Unlikely Romance
by Invader Aqua
Summary: SEQUEL TO UNLIKELY HERO! Skoodge, MiniMoose and GIR have disappeared, the Tallests want the secret to ultimate power back, and Zim tries to heal his relationship with Gaz, while Dib and Tak hunt them down. ZAGR & DATR!
1. Chapter 1

Unlikely Romance

By Invader Aqua

**Author's Notes**: You've watched, you've waited, you may have even cried yourself to sleep on some nights, but now your suffering has ended, because INVADER AQUA HAS RETURNED!! (Bows to audience. Is greeted by crickets chirping.) Thank you. Thank you. I know it's been an agonizing wait, but I'm finally back. Just so you know, it took me so long because of finals, and I've kinda been stuck in the middle of an ice storm, but apart form that I've been a little lazy… BUT NOT ANY MORE! Thanks to all of my loyal readers who made Unlikely Hero a 313th review success! Now, without further to do (accept for the disclaimer and random quote of the week) I give you CHAPTER 1!

**Disclaimer**: (Sobs) Why do you all have to keep reminding me that I don't own Invader Zim!?!?

The intelligence of Earth is a constant, however, the population continues to grow.

Chapter 1: Gathering Our Bearings

Tak glared straight forward into space while she mindlessly picked at her nails. Her mind slowly began to drift to memories that she would much rather forget.

_MIMI! Help! I can't get up._

_AHHHHHH! M-my HAND! AGGGGGHHHH!!_

Tak winced when she accidentally ripped off the nail on her right hand. Even after four years, she still wasn't used to her mechanical arm. She glared down at the robotic prosthetic limb. She hated it, but her alternatives were severely limited.

"Are we closing the gap, MIMI?"

The robot made no reply.

"MIMI! YOU USELESS EXCUSE FOR MACHINERY, ANSWER ME!"

MIMI turned to face her mistress and her mechanical face twisted into a large grin. Tak scoffed and quickly turned away in disgust. Her servant had been damaged beyond repair that day on Earth when Zim had ruined her life for the second time. She had done her best to reassemble MIMI, but now the robot gets sudden, uncontrollable personality glitches. It got so bad at times that it almost reminded her of Zim's SIR Unit.

Tak almost hated MIMI at times, but she didn't have the nerve to permanently deactivated the minion. Even though she was annoying at times, they had been through everything together. They had somewhat of a bond forged between them, not to mention that space was very lonely when you faced it by yourself.

Sirens went off in Tak's ship. She nearly fell out of her chair and ran over to see what was going on. She found MIMI asleep at the control panel, a puddle of drool rapidly forming around her mouth. Tak growled and checked the screens.

"Proximity warning? What? There's not a planet anywhere. What are we about to hit?"

(Page Break)

Dib flipped some switches, hoping to give his escape pod the boost it needed to catch up with the Massive. All was in vain. He hung his head in shame at his inability to rescue his little sister.

It was at that moment that he noticed a lever labeled 'Accelerator'.

"How did I not see this before?" He asked himself as he gleefully through the lever forward as far as it would go. The ship lurched forward and Dib laughed at his rapid progress.

Suddenly, his ship jerked to a halt and the lights blew out all at the same time her heard the terrible crunch of metal hitting metal. He lurched forward in his seat and smashed his head into the control consul, knocking himself unconscious.

(Page Break)

Gaz lay on the red couch of Zim's new base. She was comfortable where she lay, with the blanket pulled up to her neck and a pillow being held to her stomach. She stayed there, staring at the wall, waiting for sleep to come and relieve her of the reality that she was now forced to face.

Sleep didn't come, and a few minutes later she heard the doorknob being fumbled from the outside. After a few attempts, the door finally slid open, revealing a very bruised and disoriented Zim. He nearly fell to the floor, but managed to catch himself as he staggered inside. He swayed to the right and left with each step as he made his way over to the chair. Zim eased his bruised and battered body into the chair and leaned all the way back. Gaz watched him the entire time without blinking.

Zim glanced over at her. "Feel better now that you got that out of your system?"

Gaz said nothing.

"I'll admit that to some extent I probably deserved it, maybe even an hour of it, but did you honestly need to keep going after TWO AND A HALF HOURS!?"

Gaz still said nothing, but she had the faintest hint of a smirk on her face. She knew he was angry. She had been angry herself earlier, but the best way to get rid of a bad mood is to spread it to someone else, and she had done just that.

Zim swallowed thickly, even though it hurt him to do so. His gaze returned to the human. "So… Are you okay?"

"You care?"

"You broke your silence," Zim snidely pointed out.

"Screw you, Zim, I can do what ever the Hell I want. So what makes you so suddenly interested in me, huh? You knocked me up, blew up my home, threw me into jail, threatened to kill me _twice_, and _now_ you want to know if I'm **_okay_**?!"

Zim turned away so he wouldn't be struck dead by her glare. "I'll admit that I've wronged you today-"

"Psh, ya think?"

"-But… Despite everything that's happened to you today, you _are_ still alive."

"Lucky me."

"Don't speak to me in that manner! I could have killed you, but I chose not to!"

"Why, Zim? Why didn't you kill me, HUH?! _Is_ there a reason??"

The Irken glanced at the floor, but then quickly returned to her.

Gaz nodded, "It's the baby, isn't it?"

Now it was Zim's turn to say nothing.

Gaz shook her head. "You don't know anything about humans or having family or… being a father! You have no part in this child! The baby is mine, and you better stay the Hell away from it!"

"You said the smeet was mine!" Zim countered.

"Yeah, earlier! When I thought you still cared about me as a person! But now, I almost wish you'd 've killed me. At least then my child would never have to deal with you! You're terrible, Zim. I HATE YOU!"

"But the smeet is mine," Zim insisted. "So therefore I have a right to-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop right there and let's get one thing straight. You are only a parent when you create a baby out of love. I did that. I loved you when this baby was made. _You_, on the other hand was using me as part of some sick, twisted plot. You never loved me, not even when the baby was made, so you are not its father," Gaz concluded wiping her eyes.

Zim looked down on the floor. He had been defeated. He had used Gaz, and he knew it, so there was nothing left to counter her stinging logic. He hung his head and mourned the loss of his only child.

"Perhaps," he began a while later, "it is possible for me to be the baby's father if I love it before it is born?"

Gaz shook her head, "Forget it, Zim." She rose to her feet and soundlessly walked past him. "All you know is how to lie, manipulate, and kill. You'll never love anybody… And nobody will ever love you."

(End Chapter)

**Author's Notes**: Another very dark opening chapter. Sorry for its shortness, but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. Thank you again to all of the readers of Unlikely Hero. And thanks especially to Invader Johnny, who's stayed with me through both of my previous stories. I'll hopefully be posting sometime around two weeks from now. See you all then! I EXPECT REVIEWS!!


	2. Digging Through the Wreckage

Unlikely Romance

**Author's Notes**: Wootness! Who's awesome?! YOU ARE!! (Bet'cha weren't expecting that, huh?) Yup, you, dear reader, are awesome. You, and everyone else who reviewed, making the first chapter of UR a HUGE success. With that said, and not much else going on, I'll cut straight to the chapter.

**ATTENTION: **GO READ When a human loves an Irken by Invader Johnny. IT'S GOOOD!!

"I'll have to contact the coach and tell him that I have one of his balls,"

-My Debate Teacher

Chapter 2: Digging Through the Wreckage

Noomber Thrty Nien, a planet located in the far east of the Universe, located relatively close to where Earth used to be. It's just a few galaxies away from the Milky Way. The inhabitants of the planet are far stupider than even humans, and actually tend to resemble them in appearance. Only they have wolf tails, ears, and feet. Their society is held very loosely together. They are strong supporters of both hypocrisy and anarchy. They do have a monarchy, but the leader, known as the Grand Jaba, does nothing other than promote religious riots in the town square right outside the lighter-shaped palace. Noomber Thrty Nienians are extremely hostile; landing on their planet is the equivalent of being condemned to Hell.

Unfortunately, earlier that day on said planet, two ships, one Irken and one human, had come crashing down in the middle of the Great-Big-Hot-Thingy-Of-Doom, the largest desert on Noomber Thrty Nien. It can be considered fortunate for the survivors that no one lives in the desert, so they wouldn't not be beaten to death or set on fire by the inhabitants, but one also needs to consider that there are reasons why no one lives in the desert.

The crumpled heap that was once one of NASA Place's escape pods now lay smoldering in one of the sand dunes. Pounding was heard within, along with shouts and pleas. No one heard them. The pounding continued. This time, getting louder, and harder. Finally, the over-taxed hinges on the door gave way and it fell to the ground. A dazed and disoriented Dib toppled out of the ship and just barely missed the door. Pain seared throughout his head and a mouthful of hot sand wasn't much help. He rolled over on his back and spit out the fine grains of rock. The sun beat down on him.

'_Of all the days to wear three layers of black,_' he thought miserably. His head pounded and he bought a hand to it. Just touching it was enough to make him yelp, he pulled his hand away and saw his fingertips covered in blood. '_Great…_'

He knew he needed medical attention, so he did a quick scan around the area for any sign of help. All he saw was the wreckage of his ship, sand, sun, and… smoke? Dib trudged his way over the dune and found another crash sit with another ship. Slowly, he slid his way down the dune. As he drew closer, he could hear live wires' sending off sparks inside the ship. He peered in to see if there were any survivors.

"OH, MY GOD! TAK?!?"

Dib stared down in disbelief at the Irken female from his childhood. She lay unconscious, half of her body buried under the control panel, broken glass covering the rest of her. Dib stepped down onto the front of the ship and stepping halfway into the cockpit. His heart pounding, he put a hand to her upper chest to feel for any signs of life. He could feel a gentle rise and fall.

"Okay, okay..." he mumbled to himself, and began to gently tug at Tak's body, trying to slide her out from under the control panel. It didn't work; she was pinned. Dib swore. His eyes scavenged the crash site and located a pole of some sort. He grabbed it and used it as a lever to lift the control panel off of Tak's legs. The ship groaned and Dib's pole began to bend. Dib swore louder, catching the attention of the ship's other occupant.

MIMI popped her head up out of the rubble and stared at Dib. The human froze, remembering all too well his last encounter with the robot, sending him headfirst down a chute into a dumpster. Now, however, there was something different about the robot. It's eyes were cyan colored, like Zim's robot's. It's face twisted into a happily numb grin, like someone on a heavy dose of morphine. Remembering how willing Zim's robot was to obey, Dib decided to talk to Tak's.

"Uh, hey. Do you mind, uh… Helping, er… something?"

The robot's eyes flashed to red and it saluted. Taking that as a yes, Dib once again bore all of his weight down onto the pole. He watched the council raised inch by inch and finally, Tak's robot pulled her mistress out, just as the pole snapped in half.

(Page Break)

Zim lay atop his bed sheets staring blankly at the wall. He couldn't remember the last time he had blinked, but that wasn't important to him. The only thing that mattered was what Gaz had said to him.

"_All you know is how to lie, manipulate, and kill. You'll never love anybody… And nobody will ever love you."_

He shook his head, but her words remained, fastened securely in place, haunting his every thought. He put his face in his hands, moaning, "Get out of my head…" Against his pleas, Gaz's harsh words remained.

The only thing that was able to clear his mind was a soft noise coming from the upper levels of his base. It was inconsistent, and hard to ignore. Within a few minutes of listening, Zim had become annoyed. Throwing off the covers, he marched over to the nearest elevator to investigate. As he exited trough the refrigerator, he heard the noise clearly for the first time. It was a deep heaving noise that often ended in a cough coming from the living room. He walked towards the kitchen doorway and stealthily peered out.

Gaz was sitting on the couch, blankets askew, hunched over on of the pots from the kitchen. From where he stood, Zim could see that the pot was filled with bile. He watched as once again, Gaz dry heaved into the pot. Not even bile was coming up at this point. She had deprived herself of food all day, and her stomach had nothing more to give.

"Gaz?"

The girl looked up. Her eyes were red both from crying and lack of sleep, her hair was a mess and her mascara was running down her cheeks. "Go away!" She choked out, before her face contorted and she began to softly sob.

"Gaz, what's wrong?"

Not wanting Zim to see her in her weakened state, Gaz quickly gathered her composure and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. The mascara was now smeared across the side of her face as well as the back of her hand. She didn't seem to notice. "It's just morning sickness. Go back to bed."

"Morning sickness? But it's the middle of the night," Zim stated, wandering into the living room.

"Yeah, ya think?" Gaz replied with a harsh laugh. She sniffed again and turned her head away from Zim as he approached her. "Morning sickness is something that happens when you're pregnant, and seeing as I am…" she shrugged and trailed off.

"How long will this go on?" Zim asked as he sat on the couch beside her.

Gaz scooted away from him. She felt nauseous again. If she had anything left in her stomach, she'd throw it up on him, but that was out of the question. "I donno. This might be the one night that I have it, or this may go on for the whole pregnancy! Who knows?"

Zim watched her. Even from behind, she looked withered and miserable, and it was all because of him. He hung his head. He didn't know what to do.

"Should I have my computer give you a shot for the vomiting?"

"Idiot, you can't give me any medicine. You'll kill my baby…"

Zim was silent. He turned his eyes away from Gaz. Her words stung him.

'_My baby'_

The Irken drew a breath, "Is there anything at all I can do to help?"

"Believe me… You've done enough."

Shot down again. Zim's antennas fell and he hunched forward with his hands in his lap. "You should rest."

"I'll do that. Now go away-"

"Actually… I'll stay here. You take the bed, and I'll have the couch." Zim waited for a reply.

Gaz hesitated. '_Why? Why's he being so nice? A few hours ago, he was going to kill me, and now he's offering me the bed?_' Both confused and exhausted, she decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and she headed into the kitchen for the nearest elevator. Once she was down, Zim had the computer empty the pot and clean it while he redid the couch. His mental exhaustion outweighed his worry for Gaz, and he soon drifted off to sleep.

(Page Break)

Sitting in the sand on her knees, MIMI watched with rapt attention as Dib tended to her mistress. Dib had proved to be very resourceful, and was currently using part Tak's exposed mechanical legs as a splint for her broken leg. He was glad that it wasn't an open fracture, because he'd have no means of disinfecting it.

Tearing off another strip of his long-sleeved shirt, he further stabilized her lower limb. Tak was lying on his trench coat, so the sand wouldn't burn her. Dib was feeling a lot cooler now that he was down to his light blue t-shirt. Every now and again, he'd mindlessly wipe his forehead to keep the blood from running down into his eyes. He'd been so busy tending to Tak, that he hadn't done anything for himself.

Straightening out from his hunched over position, Dib admired his work. It was crude, but would serve its purpose. Tak would wear it for at least a month or two, provided that she healed as fast as humans.

Dib exhaled loudly and fell over backwards into the sand. It felt good to lie down, even if the sand was burning his arms. His whole body ached from the crash. He felt like one big bruise, but he didn't dare complain. He was lucky enough that he hadn't gotten brain damage, internal bleeding, or paralysis from the crash.

He looked over from the wreckage. If he was able to survive a wreck like that with only an open wound on his forehead, then he was okay with that. Both of the ships were totaled. He was stranded there with Tak. He'd take care of her until she woke up. If all went well, she may know how to get off the planet. Dib hoped she did, because he knew that he only had so much time before Zim decided to kill Gaz.

Worried, he brought his arm up and looked at his watch. Somehow, it had managed to stay intact from the crash. He eagerly pressed the button to check on Gaz. To his horror, the screen remained black.

(End Chapter)

**Author's Notes**: Wootness, it's over. That took me a while to do. Ya see, I haven't had much time to work on my fic, because I have so much homework. v.v; It SUCKS!!!! But you guys make it so much better. I can't thank you all enough for making the first chapter of UR 30 reviews strong!! GO READ INVADER JOHNNY'S FIC

N.River: You're the first to review! (Throws stuff at 'cha) GIR will come around in the last few chapters... Sorry, but he'll be there so don't worry.

Invader Johnny: Yup, you got it. Zim's trying, as you can see. So keep with it, and you might be pleasantly surprised. EVERYONE GO READ HIS FICS NOW.

NightmareAlive: Oh, thankies. You made my day. Enjoy!

Zantor7: Yup, I've had that happen to me. Like voodoo or something... Oh, well. I hope you enjoy.

Phoenix22: YAY, SAMMY!! I'm glad to see that you're back. YAY SHOE! (Eats it) These taste better than sandals. Enjoy.

Risa-Chan: Yup, but Tak's unconscious, and Gaz is sick. Things kinda suck right now, but I hope it entertains you.

King-dedede: Fun name. I like typing it. Dib and Tak will get together. That's why DATR is in the summary.

Endsville: YOU'RE BACK! Yay, oozing. (starts sinking in the ooze) YAY! (Drowns)

geminidragon76: Another familiar face! Or name... You're more than welcome for the sequel, and thanks for the review. There will be both a ZAGR and a DATR.

chibisiam: Cute name. Yup, I continued. Please enjoy!

Forever: Thank you. I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Enjoy the update, too.

XRaykaX: That's okay, you can keep your nephew. Reviewing makes me happy enough. Thankies!

NailBunnyGirl777: (Catches shrimp) SHRIMP!!

Invader Sideos: Wow, you make me feel awsome, I wonder why... Thanks for comparing me to the Xeno series. I feel loved.

IWasTheTurkey: I'm glad that I could make you happy. Enjoy!

The Sole Survivor: It's good to see you too. Thanks for making me feel loved. LURB.

otherrelmwriter: Yes, all hail the amazing Gaz.

InvaderInsane: (Eats popcorn) Sorry, that I was killing you... Better now?

Da Mongoose: YAY. (Squees at the shinny-ness of your review)

The Shadowy Doom: Oh, thank you. I'm glad that you liked it.

Jewel: Zimmy diserves no forgiving. Now gravel at my feet, mortal!

Abby: So glad that you enjoyed it. LURB!

Aneirin: Oh, thankies! I'm always glad to see new names!

Ing Rimescale: Don't worry. There will be progress. Oh, such progress will there be!

Broken Ember: Woot. Glad to see you back. NOW UPDATE YOUR FIC!

buggy500: Yup, here's more fo' you!

Kawaii Spinel Queen of Evil: My, what a long name you have. I hope you enjoy the update.

Kezzybob: I LOVE your name! Thanks for coming back.

Gipsy-Chan: (Big cloud appears. Aqua steps out of it. Approaches Gipsy-Chan. Pats her lightly on the head... and then glomps her.) YAY! You make me so happy with your big long reviews of nice-ness. I look forward to seeing you again. Thanks for all of your reviews!

sharpshooter01: Zim and Gaz will be fine. I included in the summary that there WILL be a DATR, and as for the baby's name... you'll just have to read and find out.

unknownwarrior: I feel honored. Thank you.

YennyJaylor: I did. Please review again.


	3. A Change of Plans

Unlikely Romance

**Author's Notes**: Not that much to say, because nothing's really changed in one week's time. I DEMAND REVIEWS! GO READ WHEN A HUMAN LOVES AN IRKEN BY INVADER JOHNNY! IT'S IN MY FAVORITES!!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Noomber Thrty Nien. It is a product of my friend Abby's sick, twisted mind. PRAISE HER FOR LETTING ME USE THE PLANET!

"Uh, yeah… Can you tell me what flower stem cells come from?"

-random kid in my debate class

Chapter 3: A Change of Plans

It was early in the morning in Zim's base. Orange light streamed through his blinds and left glowing orange stripes along the couch. Zim growled as the light fell across his face. He gave an annoyed growl before pulling the covers up over his face. When that failed, due to the fact that the blanket now partially suffocated him, he rolled over. There was a heavy thud as he landed on the floor.

Zim swore loudly from his new position. He fought a losing battle with the blanket, which insisted on binding him where he lies. With a heavy sigh, he relaxed.

"Today is going to be horrible," he prophesized, and with that, he jumped up and ripped the blanket in two. "Humph… puny Earth fabric," he mumbled as he cast the shreds aside. For the first time that morning, he realized that he was in the living room and not in his living quarters. "Eh?" Then, the events of the night before came flooding back to him, along with the worry for Gaz.

"Bothersome female," he grumbled, although he didn't mean it. He wanted desperately to hate her for making him feel the way he did. No one had ever made him feel this way before, and he didn't like it. He wanted so dearly to tear out all of the feelings that humans called emotions and stomp them into the ground. But at the same time, he didn't.

When he and Gaz were together, there had been something powerful between them; an unseen, binding force that held them to each other. '_Could it be the emotion humans call 'love'?_' he wondered, but quickly shook the thought from his head. Irkens were incapable of love. No questions asked, and no exceptions.

However, that didn't stop him from trekking downstairs to see if the human girl's condition had improved during the night. The elevator had deposited him right at the bedroom door, which opened upon his arrival. He stepped into the silent abyss. The only light there came from the hallway, but it only illuminated so much, and once the computer sensed that he was in the room, the door automatically shut. He found himself wrapped in darkness.

Gaz's figure slowly came into view with Zim's adjusting eye sight. She lay at the far left corner of the bed, curled in a tiny ball. To the side of the bed was a trash can, just in case she became nauseous.

Taking care, Zim made his way over to the bed. When she didn't stir, he sat on the bed next to her feet. On an impulse, he stroked her hair out of her face. The touch slightly roused her and she began to stir. Her brow knitted, and her amber eyes gently slid open, and adjusted to the sparsely lit room. They locked on Zim.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice cracking and hoarse. She cleared her throat a few times in an attempt to fix the problem, but ended up making it worse. Zim watched with his antennas drooping as she went into a coughing fit.

"I came down to see if you were feeling any better," he explained while he studied her. He'd have to be a moron to not notice that something was wrong.

"Well, let me answer that question for you: I feel like a pile of crap," she explained, her voice breaking on the last word. She grabbed her throat.

"I'm taking you to the medical bay," Zim said as he reached down and gently scooped Gaz into his arms. He carried her out of the room, all the doors opening upon sensing their presence.

Gaz didn't like that Zim was touching her, but she knew that something was wrong with her. She certainly didn't feel like walking herself down to the medical bay. Every now and again, she felt like she either wanted to throw up or pass out. The latter of the two seemed more likely. She knew that there was nothing left in her stomach, and she really didn't feel like eating anything. Just the thought of food made her nauseous.

'_Maybe he can fix it,_' Gaz thought, in reference to Zim. She still felt that he didn't deserve a name. '_I just hope that whatever's going on isn't hurting the baby._' The thought of losing her baby broke whatever repairs she had made to her emotional barriers and she started crying into Zim.

Zim was startled when he felt her body jerk and heard her softly sob. It wasn't long before her tears soaked through a small part of his shirt and lightly dampened a part of his chest. '_What's wrong now?_' he asked himself. He knew that she hated him, but he didn't think that trying to help her would make her cry. She's been so upset lately; he didn't want her to cry again.

As he started to soothe her, memories came flooding back to him. He remembered the time that she had run away from her home to come spend the night at his house. The way she had trusted him with her secrets and then leaned on him for comfort. He had comforted her, but only for the sake of his plan. '_Ugh, I'm an IDIOT!_' he scolded himself mentally. '_We shared something between us so many times, and I threw it all away for an unworthy cause. The Tallest never had any intent to return my status; they only wanted to use me to get the poem… And then sacrifice me to gain power from the Meekrob._' Zim felt a pain in the pit of his chest. It was a strange sensation for him. He felt hollow and alone, like he was falling or drowning in darkness, and there was nobody who wanted to save him.

As they entered the medical bay, Gaz heard Zim give a small, high pitched whine, like a puppy, when he set her down on the examination table. She wasn't sure if she had really heard it, for all she knew, she could have done it. She searched Zim's expression for any hint that he was the one who made the noise, but he turned his back to her as soon as he laid her down.

She dried her eyes with her coat sleeve and watched him go over to one of the panels. She watched as he started pressing buttons. Within seconds, a light appeared at her feet and then traveled slowly along the table in the direction on her head. She felt as though she was in a giant copying machine. She looked over at Zim and watched as her silhouette appeared on the screen in front of him. When the scanning light reached the top of her head, it turned around and started to head back towards her feet. On the screen, the silhouette of herself started filling in with her skeleton, going form head to toe.

When her skeleton was fully on the screen, it gave Zim a detailed report on anything that might be wrong with it. Reading his native language, he found that there was nothing abnormal with her skeletal system, so he had another scan preformed. This one would scan her from foot to head to see if there was anything wrong with her nervous system.

Gaz watched as the light began to move up her body, and as it did so, the image of her on screen had the skeleton erased and a detailed map of her nervous system took its place from the foot up. When it was finished, Zim again red the report and found nothing wrong with the girl. So, he started yet another scan, from head to toe on her internal organs. Gaz watched as the cluster of nerves in her silhouette's head turned into a picture of her brain. She watched as little by little, her organs appeared, each one having a detailed read out for Zim, but because it was Irken, she didn't have a clue as to what it said.

Zim began reading on what each of the organs was meant to do, and then read the statistic on how well it was currently performing its task. Her lungs and heart were working fine, and her brain was alert and functioning. He moved down and saw that her stomach wasn't digesting anything, as it should, so he concluded that Gaz needed to eat something when the tests were done. Finally, an organ of particular interest appeared on screen: her uterus.

Zim read the report on it. Subject: Uterus. Function: Reproduction. Status: In use. Details: Embryo is detected to be half human and half Irken, and is estimated to be a week old. Embryo status: Growing. Maturation of embryo is estimated to be seven Universal weeks.

Zim stood up straight and absorbed the information. Until just now, the smeet had only been an idea. Some intangible substance that Gaz intended to keep away from him, but now, the child seemed very real. '_This is really happening._' Zim thought.

"How's the baby?"

Zim was jarred from his thoughts. He turned to Gaz to find her expression just as pleading as her voice. She looked terrified as she lay on her back on the scanning table with both of her hands over her stomach.

"The baby's fine," he explained.

"This scanner won't hurt it, right?"

"No, not at all."

"Does it say anything about the baby… On that screen?"

"It says that the baby will be born in about seven Universal weeks."

"Seven weeks!" Gaz exclaimed, her eyes popping open and gazing down at her stomach in disbelief.

"Seven _Universal_ weeks," Zim corrected.

"So, what's that in human weeks?"

Zim thought while his claws drummed lightly on his chin. "A week in Universal is about a month for you humans."

"Seven months?"

"That's what it says."

"Is that normal?"

"Not really. Smeets only need six Universal weeks to mature. I wonder why this one needs seven," he pondered, his voice trailing off.

"Humans need nine months to mature," Gaz explained.

"Nine months!!"

"In human months! It'd only be nine weeks in your time," she stated.

A red light beyond Zim caught her attention. When he realized that she was no longer looking at him, he turned around and looked back at the screen. The red was to indicate that the computer had found the problem. He walked over to read the computer's report.

"Is it the baby?" Gaz asked, frightened.

"No, I already said that the baby is fine. This is something wrong with _you_," he explained.

"What's wrong?"

"… It says you're… dehydrated… What's that?"

"It means I've been puking my guts up all night and I need something to drink."

"I have soda, but it's Irken soda, and I don't know how you'd react to it."

"How 'bout a glass of water? That's what would really help."

"Water? I have no water! It burns me!" Zim yelled.

"Well, that's the only thing that'll fix it," Gaz countered, raising her voice as well.

The two glared at each other. "Fine," Zim said. "I'll locate where the nearest water source is. You just rest." He left the room before she could reply.

Gaz lay back down on the table, confident that Zim would help her.

(Page Break)

Dib sat in the sand, hunched over, holding his knees to his chest. His brain was viciously rejecting the conclusion that he had drawn earlier. '_Gaz can't be dead,_' he told himself. '_There's an obvious explanation for why she's not answering her communicator… Maybe she's asleep. Yeah, she just fell asleep and didn't hear me beeping in, or… maybe my watch really did break in the wreck! Yeah! Gaz is just fine._'

Dib sighed at his miserable attempt to convince himself that Gaz was still alive. He knew for a fact that his watch was in perfect functioning order, but he wanted there to be some room for doubt. He didn't want to accept that Zim had killed Gaz.

A soft moan caught his attention. He looked over and saw Tak stirring uncomfortably within his ship. He had placed her in his cockpit earlier to keep her out of the sun. He walked over to the doorway and peered in. It was at least ten degrees cooler inside, and he'd kept the door open to allow some wind to flow through.

Tak rolled over slightly and cracked an eye open. She glanced over at the human. Her brow knitted as she racked her brain for his name. He looked so familiar, and at the same time, so different. She gazed into his eyes.

"D-Dib?"

"Hi," he replied.

"You're different," she stated in reference to his hair and height.

"Yeah, I've hit puberty," he told her.

"Oh," she said with a nod. She had no idea what puberty was, but she just accept that as the thing responsible for Dib's increased height, deeper voice, and more defined facial features.

"Are you in any pain?" Dib asked.

"Should I be?" she replied, looking down. All she saw was her body disappear under Dib's trench coat. It did make a warm blanket, however, and she was quite comfortable at the moment.

"No, I wouldn't want you to be… I saw your robot give you a shot shortly after I finished splinting your leg. Maybe it was a pain reliever…" he mused.

"What's wrong with my leg?"

"You broke it in the crash," Dib explained, and took a half step into the ship to get out of the sun.

"How badly?" she asked, gently peering under the blanket to see the damage.

"It wasn't an open fracture, if that's what you're worried about. I had a fairly easy time splinting it. How long do you think it'll take to heal?

"I can't say for sure… Maybe a month or two…"

Dib nodded. Well, we're going to be stuck here for a while, then… Both of our ships are in pretty bad shape, and I may need your help."

"So you're the thing I crashed into."

"Yeah… Sorry 'bout that," he said, and again mindlessly wiped his forehead. Luckily, the blood had started to coagulate; either that or he was running out of blood in his body. At this point, he really didn't care too much either way.

"Go have MIMI clean that up," she said, indicating to the wound on his forehead.

"Huh? Oh, sure. Are you okay?"

"At the moment. Now go get cleaned up," Tak ordered, somewhat kindly.

Dib nodded and left the ship to find MIMI.

(End Chapter)

**Author's Notes**: PRAISE ME! I finally got that chapter done, and look how long it took me to do it. (Sighs and leans back in chair) I am just too nice to all of you… I'll update in about two weeks. NOW GIVE ME REVIEWS!! LURB! Onward to the thankyous….

Invader Johnny: So good to see that you're the first to reivew, but I wouldn't expect anything less. I hope you get the chance to update your story soon. I CAN'T FREAKIN' WAIT!!

Invader Sideos: Of course you want the baby to be named Sideos, but I'm not _that_ mean. Oh, NO!! Not the monkeys! Here's the chapter; don't send the monkeys!

NightmareAlive: I typed your name just as it said 'alive' in the song I was listening to. Just thought you'd like to know that. Yup, Tak's awake, and Gaz is already a little moody, but it'll get so much worse. Poor Zimmeh!

The Sole Survivor: Yeah, Zim better be acting small. You know what they say: When you're in it up to your eyeballs, it pays to keep your mouth shut.

Aneirin: I donno, Tak seems to be in a fairly good state of mind. I don't think she'll kill Dib, but I'm not making any promises. (Cackles)

XRaykaX: Keep the nephew and send the gift wrap. (Overly pleased voice) _Giiiiiift wraaaaapp_. (Lost in happy place)

fanfictionfan123: Yup, praise me for my making-of-the-sequel-ness. (Feels awsome) Thanks for reviewing.

Broken Ember: Don't worry 'bout your not loging in. I'm glad to hear from you. I WANT YOU TO UPDATE! (Pouts) I wanna know what happens. GIR: I know what you meeeeeaaaaaan.

YELLOWCARDFMAFANS: (Looks at you laying on the ground) o.O; kay... (Pats you on the head) Thanks for reviewing. Ah misseded you.

Ing Rimescale: Yup, praise my friend, Abby, for the making of the Noomber Thrty Nien goodness. She's sick in the head like that. (Looks proud)

DemonSurfer: I'll take your input into careful consideration. To be honest with you, I don't exactly have this fic planned out; I just have a general idea of where I want it to go. Soooo... Thanks for the input.

Forever: Homework IS Hell. Period. Thanks for reviewing, despite your horrible homeworkness.

Abby: But what if it _is_ corn? Hmmmmmmm?!? oO LURB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

buggy500: Here be your more. ENJOY!

InvaderInsane: Hmmm... Thanks for the review.


	4. Everything's Going to be Okay

Unlikely Romance

**Author's Notes**: My sincerest apologies to all of those who have been waiting for me to update. I've had bronchitis for the past week or so, and I've been struggling to keep up with my schoolwork. As you can probably guess, I didn't have any time to write a chapter. BUT FEAR NOT! FOR I HAVE RETURNED! (Bows to invisible audience) So please be generous with your reviews, 'cause they make me feel better.

"Logic is dead, and its corpse is being beaten!"

-random girl from my debate class

Chapter 4: Everything's Going to be Okay

Dib sat in the sand, knees pressed against his chest, shivering. The sun was low on the horizon and the temperature had plummeted some fifty degrees. Also, he had a new reason to hate the wind. Not only did it blow sand in his eyes and up his nose, but now it seemed to drop the temperature even quicker. It was already below the comfortably cool point and Dib was trying to keep warm however he could in his T-shirt and jeans.

His long sleeve shirt was stabilizing Tak's leg and his trench coat was keeping her warm. There was no shelter for him, because Tak was occupying his ship and her own was too dangerous to spend the night in. Starting a fire was out of the question, due to the wind and lack of flammable materials.

'_Looks like I'm just royally screwed all the way around,_' Dib thought bitterly, but at the same time, slightly amused at his predicament. '_I've got to admit, though, this is a pretty exotic way to die. What train of events led up to this point anyways._'

Then, he was overcome by sadness. Sadness for Gaz; the reason he had left the safety of his father's space station in the first place. The reason he had crashed into Tak's ship and was now stranded in the middle of an alien desert, slowly freezing to death. This sadness was for himself as well as Gaz, because he was starting to fear that he would die for nothing.

All day, an ugly thought had threatened to rear its face in Dib's mind, but he had always managed to push it away before it could fully materialize. He didn't want to think that way; he wanted to have hope. But now, with the sun going down and his life flashing before his eyes, the thought entered his head, fully formed in all his horror.

'_I'm going to die in vain, because Gaz is already dead._'

He hadn't wanted to consider it. He had wanted to accept any other explanation for why she hadn't answered her communicator. No matter how bizarre. But it made sense. The communicator had a range the spanned through the entire galaxy and it would beep if there was some interference. But there was no interference. It hadn't been taken from her either. He knew that for sure. That left only one other explanation. One that left him feeling both horribly guilty and empty at the same time.

'_I let you down. You called me for help, and I couldn't save you… We may not have had the best relationship, but we were still family. We cared about each other, though neither of us ever admitted it. I regret that now… I really _really_ regret never telling you that I loved you. That I loved my little sister now matter how many times she broke my nose or kicked me hard enough to ensure that I never had children. I still loved her… And I know that she loved me too._'

Dib watched his vision blur, but he didn't care. Three drops feel on his jeans: two tears and one drop of blood. In his misery, he hadn't even noticed that he bit though his lip. In fact, he bit harder to try and hold in his sobs. He had failed as a brother. In his alien hype, he had ignored Gaz during a very important time in her life. A time that allowed Zim to get his slimy, alien claws on her and plant his seed in her womb. Dib felt that he should have been there for her, instead of Zim. If only he had paid more attention to her. She was what mattered. Not the code. Not proving the kids from Skool wrong. Not fame. Not fortune. Family was what mattered, and family was what he really wished he had right now on some alien world at dusk, with the day's last light painting the sky. He wanted his family to comfort him. To let him now that everything would be okay, even when it obviously wouldn't.

Dib craned his head back and looked at the stars. There were thousands already, even though it wasn't completely dark yet. Shivering against the wind, which whipped sand and his own hair down into his eyes, he searched the sky. For what, he wasn't quite sure. Perhaps a passing alien craft to hitch a ride on, or maybe just a falling star to make a desperate wish on. He didn't know. The only coherent thought that he allowed to enter his mind was: '_I wonder which of those stars is Earth's sun._'

"Hey, Dib!"

The human jumped and was violently jarred from his thoughts. His head whipped around for the voice's source. He saw Tak sitting up, looking out of the ship's entrance.

"Get in here, human, before you freeze to death," she called to him before lying back down.

Not needing to be called again, Dib jumped up and ran over to the ship. Tak watched from where she lay as Dib's form filled the space where the ship's door used to be. For a moment, he hesitated. Tak didn't understand, and she motioned him in. He nodded and carefully stepped into the ship.

The NASA Place Escape Pod was really only built to hold one person at a time, but since it currently rested on its side in the sand, it was able to hold two. Dib sat down beside Tak and ran his hands up and down his arms trying to warm up.

"Lay down," Tak ordered, with the faintest hint of a smirk.

Near hypothermia forcing him into obedience, Dib did as he was told. Tak handed him half of his jacket to keep warm. He accepted it thankfully and shifted around until he was slightly comfortable.

"Uh… Tak?"

"Yes, Dib?"

"How come you're being so nice to me?" he asked, slightly turning his head to look at her. In the light of the stars he could slightly make out her profile. The night sky was perfectly mirrored in her glassy eyes. The reflection moved slightly, along with her eyes. He watched her eyes move as she searched for an answer.

"Because," she finally said. "My leg's broken… and someone is going to have to fix my ship while it heals."

"Couldn't your robot do it?"

Tak sighed. "Ever since my visit to Earth, MIMI hasn't been the same. She has trouble staying on task. I'd rather have someone I know would get the job done… Sheesh, you're freezing! Come closer or you'll never get warm."

Dib nodded in his obedient state and inched closer to her. In the back of his mind he realized that this was the closest he had ever physically been to a girl, human or otherwise. However, in the grand scheme of things, that didn't seem very important at the moment, so he pushed the thought from his head and let the warmth from Tak's body lull him to sleep.

(Page Break)

Zim leaned his elbows on the control consul and rubbed the spot between his eyes. So far, he had failed to find a planet that had water for Gaz. The situation was made worse by Gaz's deteriorating condition. She had become very weak in the past few hours, she could hardly open her eyes, and she didn't seem right when she talked to Zim. She seemed out of it and even delirious at some points. If he couldn't locate the fluids she required soon, things could go from bad to worse.

If things kept at the pace they were, it wouldn't be long before her vitals began to fail. He could lose her, and for some reason, that worried him.

'_For crying out loud!_' the part of him that was still a soldier scolded. '_You betrayed your leaders, left your friends, you're a fugitive from the Empire and all you can worry about is the life of a stupid Earth monkey. How far have you fallen?_'

'_Your baby will die with me._' Gaz's frenzied voice echoed in his head.

'_That's why,_' the non-soldier that had developed over the past few days countered. '_I know that the Tallests were planning to sacrifice me to obtain power. _I_ know that they never planned to reinstate me as an Invader. _**I**_ know that my whole life has been a lie. _**I**know_ that all I am is a big joke that the _entire_ Irken Empire is in on. _**I**KNOW_ that the Tallests have tried to deactivate me. _**I KNOW**_ that in my _entire_ life, no one has ever cared about what happened to me…_

'_Except her… Gaz cared. She really does… Did… She cared for me, like she cared for no other; the way I used to care about being an Invader. But all I did was use her, the same way I was used by the Tallests. It was all a big joke. The only difference is that the Tallests didn't lose anything, but I lost everything. Gaz was my everything. She still is my everything! I have to save her! I have to save my smeet!_'

Deciding that he had stood by long enough, Zim pushed back from the computer and ran out of the research room. He bolted down to the medical bay where Gaz slept and the machines monitored her vitals. He was concerned to see that the vitals had dropped since he last checked on her.

He ordered the computer to ready his ship and to continue the search for a planet with a large body of drinkable water. After the computer gave a long groan, Zim turned his attention back to Gaz. Pale and weak, she rested on the examination table. Her breathing was labored, and Zim got the sense that he didn't have as much time as he originally thought.

"Don't worry," he softly whispered as he lifted her up. "You'll be fine. I'll take care of you." Her head lulled into his chest and stayed there as he carried her up to the docking bay. She gave a soft moan as he lay her down in the back seat of the ship. His antennas went limp and he gave a soft whine. He didn't want to think about what would happen if she died, but that seemed to be a growing possibility, given the circumstances.

'_No!_' he ordered himself. '_Don't think that way! As long as you get moving and find her some water, she'll be fine! You got that, soldier!?_'

Zim resisted the urge to yell 'sir, yes sir' as he climbed into the pilot's seat. The roof opened and he was launched into space. He watched the scanner on the dashboard that said whether or not a planet had any body of water on it. Many did have great oceans of salt water, as Earth had, but Zim's tests showed that this would have a negative effect on Gaz's condition, so he kept looking.

While Zim's computer scanned the surrounding planets, it did not pick up any ships in the nearby area. Usually, this would not be a problem, because this side of the Universe was fairly uninhabited. Unfortunately for Zim, there happened to be a ship in the nearby area that had picked up on the Irken signal that his ship gave off. This same ship was now pursuing him and rapidly closing in. By the time he did notice a large, ominous object behind him, it was too late.

The Irken vessel jerked violently as it was caught in a tractor-beam coming from the ship. The controls were now useless, as Zim soon found out. All that he could do was sit and wait as the mysterious ship slowly reeled him in like a fish.

(End Chapter)

**Author's Notes**: I know; I'm a horrible person. I'm gone for a month, and then I leave off on a cliff hanger. Well, sucks to be you (but you know that I still love you… Just not like that). Wow, this chapter seemed kind of serious… No more Stephen King books for me! (Even though he is, like, the best writer _ev-ver_!) If all goes according to plan, the next chapter should be hilarious… I think… I donno… I kinda lost the outline I had for this fic. BUT WHO NEEDS IT?! TIME FOR THE THANKYOUS…

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Sorry I can't do individual thankyous like I usually do, but I forgot the charger for my laptop, so I'm very pressed for time. I promise to thank all of you specifically next time. THANK YOU!!!


	5. We Are The Resisty!

Unlikely Romance

**Author's Notes**: Ah, another crappy, rainy day. Not much to complain about. More reviews would be nice, but that's about it. Enjoy the update.

Fortune cookie say: "He who stands on toilet high on pot."

Chapter 5: We Are The Resisty

Zim's ship was pulled towards the alien vessel with no hope for escape. Within seconds, he was inside the larger ships holding chamber. Zim eyed around the room suspiciously. He was surprised to see that the room was vacant. The unwritten rule of using tractor beams to take someone hostage was that you sent someone down to collect your hostage once they were captured.

'_They're either really good,_' Zim thought in reference to his captors, '_or complete amateurs._' Zim glanced around the room once more. '_Hmmm, titanium alloy… My ship doesn't have a laser to break through it… Staying here doesn't do me any good either…_'

Gaz coughed harshly behind him. Zim turned and placed the back of his hand to her face. She felt about the same as he did, but Zim figured that a healthy Irken temperature of 104.3 wasn't healthy for humans. He reached down, cradled the girl to his chest, and exited the ship.

In the short time that he had been preoccupied with Gaz, someone had opened the door in the back of the holding chamber. The other side of the door was pitch dark, and Zim didn't trust it; however, it was his only option, seeing as the rest of the room was tightly sealed, without so much as an air vent. With all other options exhausted, Zim stepped into the unknown.

The new room was warmer than the holding chamber, but from the echoes of his footsteps, Zim judged that it was also significantly bigger. Over to his far right, he heard someone cough.

"Who's there?" Zim called his voice echoed around the room.

"Who said that?" whispered a voice to Zim's left, obviously not talking to the Irken.

"I donno," came the airy reply also to Zim's left.

"Wait? Was that the Irken?" asked a voice directly ahead of Zim.

"Oh, yeah. The Irken's here," came a voice not to far from the one in front of Zim.

"So, why didn't you signal when it entered the room??" hissed the voice in front.

"Why didn't you ask me to?" replied the second voice.

"Ask you to- ?! – Why I- You!- Never mind. Hit the light!"

"What?" called a voice from high above Zim's head.

"THE LIGHT! I SAID TURN ON THE LIGHT!!"

"….. Okay."

A switch was thrown and a bright, white light shone down on Zim, causing him to squint. A pair of yellow eyes appeared directly in front of him. The Irken gasped, "Who are you?!"

"Who am I?" asked the voice, ominously. "Who am I?"

"Yeah, that's what I asked," Zim clarified.

"No no. Hold on. I'm monologing. It sounds spookier." There was a pause as the voice cleared its throat to regain its ominous tone. "The question is not 'who am I' but rather 'who are we'."

Zim watched as several pairs of yellow eyes opened around him. He gasped in horror and held Gaz closer.

"_We_ are the ones summoned from different corners of the Universe. _We_ are the ones who have taken this heavy burden upon us. _We_ are the ones who will rid the Universe of the green menace. _We_ who are cal-"

"Wait a minute," Zim interrupted. "Are you about to tell me your name is The Wii?"

"What? No! Not Wii. _WE_! As in _us_…. You know: all of us; _we_…. Together…. It's a pronoun-"

"Yeah, yeah. Go on."

"And that's _not_ our name!" the voice asserted. And in a pouty voice, added, "I'd tell you our name if you'd stop interrupting."

"I said '_go on_'!" Zim urged.

"Oh, right… Where was I?"

"Uh, the one part with all the 'we's," the second voice in front of Zim said.

"Oh, yes right… _We_ are the ones summoned from different corners of the Universe. _We_ are the ones who have taken this heavy burden upon us. _We_ are the ones who will rid the Universe of the green menace. _We_ who are cal-"

"Are you almost done?" Zim asked, agitated.

"NO!!"

"Now?" asked the voice high above Zim, and without waiting for a reply there was the sound of a switch being thrown. In an instant, the entire room was illuminated. Zim gasped. He was surrounded by several different species, but he already knew the one thing that they all had in common. All the species before him either had been conquered by or was at war with the Irkens. In front of him stood a wide-eyed Vortion, frozen in fear. Hovering next to the Vortion was a screw-shaped being, smiling obliviously and waving at Zim.

The Vortion gave a frustrated growl. "NOT NOW! I HAVEN'T GIVEN HIM OUR NAME YET!!"

"Oh… Sorry," replied the far-away voice, followed by the lights going back out. Zim stared at the yellow-eyed affect that the dim lights had on the Vortion standing in front of him.

"Right… Now, any other comments?" asked the Vortion, eying Zim.

"No no… I'm good," Zim assured. "Just cut to your name."

"Okay… Let me find my spot… _We_ are the ones who will rid the Universe of the green menace. _We_ who are called… THE RESISTY!!!!"

Zim listened as the word echoed throughout the hull of the ship. The accidental lighting earlier had given him a glimpse of the control room he was standing in. It was definitely large, and from what Zim could gather, the ship was of Vortion origins.

Dead silence.

"That's your name? The Resisty?" Zim asked.

"Yup, that's our name."

"You should have gone with The Wii. That has a more ominous ring to it."

"Oh, what do you know…………. A-hem….."

Continued silence.

"A-HEEEEEEEM!" the Vortion repeated.

"Oh," came the voice overhead. "Was that the signal? Okay."

The lights came back on.

"Are you terrified, Irken Scum?" inquired the Vortion slyly.

"To be honest, it's all I can do to stop from laughing," Zim remarked.

"Why you-"

"HEY!" butted in the screw-shaped alien. "Aren't we going to sing the song?"

"The song? Oh, yes! The song. Start up the music!" called the Vortion.

Before Zim had a chance to ask, a corny fanfare started playing over the speakers of the control room. The aliens that once surrounded him were now huddled together in front of him, clearing their throats, and before the Irken could run, they sang:

"_Weeeeeeeeee aretheResis-TY!_

_We've come to save the Uuuuu-ni-verse!_

_Weeeeeeeeee ARETHERESIS-TY!_

_The Ir-kens are ver-ry baaaaaaaad!_

"_Weeeeeeeeee aretheResis-TY!_

_We've… um…"_

Zim watched with mild amusement as the song fell apart while the Resisty fought over the next lyrics.

"Are you sure it isn't 'We've stood tall in the face of danger'?" asked one of the aliens.

"I thought it was 'We used to be the PIRATE MONKEYS'!" exclaimed the screw-shaped alien.

"I thought I told you beforehand that we omitted those lyrics because the Pirate Monkeys is a stupid name!" the Vortion scolded. "What he said earlier was right. It _is_ 'We've stood tall in the face of danger'! Oh, and you in the back singing alto, you're sharp. What key are you in anyways?"

"A Minor," replied a voice in the back of the group.

"A Minor?! No wonder! I thought I said it'd be easier on all of us to sing in the key of-"

"Um, sir, is it _bad_ that the Irken is trying to escape?" the screw-shaped alien asked.

"Yes. It's very bad. Why?"

"Oh, well… The Irken's trying to escape."

"WHAT?!" The Vortion looked over and saw Zim sneaking around the group over to the escape pods. "Seize him!"

The other aliens quickly surrounded Zim and blocked him off from the pods.

"Put your hands in the air, Irken scum. There's no use trying to escape," the Vortion leader commanded.

"Um, in case you haven't noticed, my hands are a little full," Zim growled in regards to Gaz, who was still cradled in his arms.

The mass of aliens looked at Gaz as if seeing her for the first time.

"Hey, sir," the screw-shaped alien whispered to his leader. "Who's that girl right there?"

"I'm not quite sure. Why hasn't she said anything?"

"Maybe," another alien began, "she's unconscious."

"You think she's his prisoner?" asked a voice in the back of the group.

"The Irken must be using her as a sex slave!" cried out yet another alien.

"What?" Zim asked raising a brow. "No, you've got it all wrong. Gaz isn't my-"

"Remove the hostage!" shouted the Vortion.

A large alien, wearing solely armor approached Zim. The only flesh of the creature that could be seen was its brain, which hovered, exposed, where the creature's head should have been. Zim didn't want to hurt Gaz in a struggle, so he willingly gave her to the alien.

"She's very sick," Zim explained. "My computer wasn't able to diagnose everything that was wrong, but it said that she was dehydrated. She told me that a glass of water would fi-"

"Seize the Irken prisoner!" the Vortion yelled.

Two aliens on either side grabbed Zim by his arms, and held him in place.

"Wooo! Alright! Hey, now what?" asked the screw-shaped alien.

"Um… I don't know. We've never really caught an Irken before…. What do you guys think?"

A chorus instantly roared within the Resisty members. Zim heard several methods of torture being shouted out. Others, however, said that they should use Zim as leverage against his people.

'_Heh,_'Zim thought bitterly. '_A lot of good that will do you._'

A random few suggested that Zim serve as an example to the Irken Empire that the Resisty means business. They wanted the Tallests to watch as they humiliated and tortured Zim.

"Alright, alright!" the Vortion leader called out over the squabbling aliens. "None of you can agree, so before this gets violent, I propose a compromise. All of you want him to be imprisoned, while all of you want him dead. So, I say… we shoot him out of the airlock and call it a day."

"Oh, yeah sure."

"Okay by me."

"Great idea, sir."

"Hey, don't I get a say in this!?" Zim pleaded. The Resisty looked at him and laughed.

"Prepare the AIRLOCK!"

"WAAAAIIIIIIT!" Zim screeched. "You can't toss me out. I'm not the female's captor, I'm her caregiver! You have to believe me. I've been taking care of her for a few days now. Her planet is gone, and I'm all she has left!"

The Vortion chuckled. "Nice try, Irken, but your lies won't get through to us. I'll bet if we called your leaders right now, they'll tell us that you blew up the girl's planet."

"Humph. For your information: I'm a rebel Irken!" Zim shouted. "I left the Massive and I took the girl with me. We have a relationship… She's going to have MY _CHILD_!"

Gasps were heard around the room.

"UGH! You… RAPED her?!"

"NOOO!! IT WAS _CONSENTUAL_! She won't even abort it. This is _her_ decision," Zim explained.

The Resisty looked amongst each other. The Vortion turned his gaze back to Zim. "How do we know you aren't lying? HMMMMMM?!"

"Well… When she wakes up… Ask her. She'll tell you exactly the same story I did," Zim assured.

The Vortion studied him for a long time before saying, "Fine… We'll care for the girl, but if her story differs from yours, it's out the airlock for you."

"Fine," Zim growled.

"Fine," the Vortion echoed. "Take him away."

"What!?"

"You're going down to one of our holding cells. What? You didn't honestly expect us to treat you like a guest, did you? We don't trust you, Irken, and when the girl tells us how you made her your sex slave, I'll happily shoot you out of the airlock, Irken rebel or otherwise!"

"Just make sure you don't give her any medications!" Zim called as he was escorted out of the room. "Gaz told me it would hurt the smeet!"

(Page Break)

"I'm back!"

Tak sat up at the sound of the human's voice. Dib was approaching the ship, arms filled with all the snacks he was able to salvage.

"Brilliant," Tak praised. "That only took you half the day to do."

"Haha," Dib said blandly and dropped the pile into Tak's lap. "I'm sure you'll do it much quicker than me when you go tomorrow."

"Point made. But really, what took you so long?" she asked as she opened one of the bags.

"Well, you try navigating through live wires inside a tin can where it's hotter than 200 degrees. You're going to have to send MIMI to find more water, 'cause I've already sweat out everything I drank this morning," Dib said as he mopped off his chest with his discarded T-shirt.

"Oh, is that why you smell so bad?" Tak asked.

"I can't help it. You sent me to the gates of Hell to get food, and I went. Bad smell is a small price to pay for you to live to see tomorrow… Is it safe for me to eat that?"

Tak nodded and handed him one of the packages. "Well, regardless of how selfless your actions were, if you don't smell better by this evening, you're sleeping outside."

Dib kept eating, blowing off her threat, knowing that she wouldn't really let him freeze. He heard some shuffling outside and looked over his shoulder. "MIMI's back," he stated.

"Good, now get your water, human. You're of no use to me dehydrated," she said, while making a shooing motion towards him.

Dib stepped out of the ship and walked over to the robot.

"Gah, human! Your flesh is so pale it's reflecting the sun into my eyes," Tak yelled, trying not to laugh.

Dib flipped her the bird, not knowing whether she understood what it meant. He gulped down most of the water that the robot found. This upset MIMI, because she was tied of leaving her mistress to go look for water.

"MIMI," Tak called. "Get Dib some cleansing chalk. He stinks."

MIMI saluted and whipped out a white brick. Before Dib knew what was going on, the robot jumped him and began scrubbing him furiously with the bar. Tak laughed as she listened to Dib struggle and scream. '_Who knew that the boy could be both useful and entertaining,_' Tak thought, amused, as she heard Dib yell, "NO, NOT MY PANTS! TAK! CLOSE YOUR EYES!!"

(End Chapter)

**Author's Notes**: Sorry to those of you who are waiting for the Dib and Tak story to get going, but I didn't know what else to say. I was afraid that if I kept going, I'd start rambling and get ahead of myself. Next chapter or so, I plan to do a mild crossover with Invader Johnny's WHEN A HUMAN LOVES AN IRKEN. Go read his story so you know what I'm talking about. Now, for the thankyous…


	6. Stories in the Dark

Unlikely Romance

**Author's Notes**: Hiya everyone! I'm back! Sorry for the delay. My dad weekends have been all mixed up because of Easter, and a few personal issues that none of you guys need to know about:) Enjoy the chapter… if any of you are still reading it, of course… TT.TT

"I've lost my eraser; I've lost my mind!... Between the two, I miss the eraser more!"

-Friend of mine from Major World Authors

Chapter 6: Stories in the Dark

'_Huh?... What's going on?... Why is it so dark?_'

There was a noise off to the left. It was so faint and far away that it might as well have been underwater.

'_Or maybe I'm underwater…What is that?_'

She listened as the noise slowly but steadily grew louder. Finally, she realized that the noise was someone whispering, and they were standing right next to her.

"Who are you?" Gaz tried to ask, but her voice was garbled and hoarse. Her lips outright refused to make words.

"What was that?" asked another voice. Male, or so Gaz thought, coming from the far side of… where ever she was. It was so dark, she couldn't see anything.

There was a brief pause before a second voice, obviously female, answered, "It was the human. I think she may be coming around."

'_What?_'

"Are you sure?" inquired the male voice as it drew closer. "She looks the same."

"She could just be muttering in her sleep."

"Wha-a?"

There were two startled gasps. Gaz only wished she could see the looks on their faces. '_Yup, I've still got "it"._'

"Human-female?... Are you conscious?" asked the male voice cautiously.

Gaz then realized why the voices didn't know she was awake and why the room seemed to be so dark: her eyes were still closed.

'_Duh,_' she thought bitterly to herself before opening her eyes. '_Bad idea!_' she thought, her eyes squinting against the bight light.

As her eyes adjusted, she saw two silhouettes standing above her. She tried to raise her hand to shade her eyes but soon found that she couldn't. Her arms felt like they weighed twenty pounds, and she was too tired to bother raising them. "Whuh? Were 'm I?" she asked, and wanted to wince at how stupid she sounded.

"You're in our medical bay," the female voice replied.

"Who are you?"

"Who are we?" repeated the male voice. "Why, we are none other than… The Resisty!"

'_Resisty? What the hell kinda name is Resisty? I must still be some kind of delirious, because I'm more than sure I heard that wrong…_' Nevertheless, Gaz watched as the two figures faded evermore into view. The male voice was coming from a small, blue creature with ram-like horns. The female voice came from a cloaked figure, whose facial features were completely hidden under her purple hood; however, her eyes seemed to glow a solid, pale blue. '_Hmmm, weird,_' she thought, nonchalantly.

"Why am I here?" Gaz finally asked.

"You're here because we captured the Irken that imprisoned you," the male answered.

'_Irken?_' she pondered. '_ZIM!!_' "Where is he?"

"He is currently in our holding chamber. We'll release him, but only under certain circumstances… Do you feel well enough to answer a few questions?" asked the blue creature.

"Who are you?" Gaz asked, sternly.

The little, blue alien stared at her for roughly a minute before replying, "My name is Lard Nar."

"And how do I know that I'm not your prisoner?"

Lard Nar looked baffled by her question. "Dear female, don't our actions speak louder than words? We saved your life. Isn't that proof enough that we're on your side?"

"But you said that Zim was being held… somewhere," Gaz persisted, not yet convinced of the alien's motives.

"Of course he is! He's Irken!"

"So?"

Lard Nar sighed impatiently. "The Resisty is an organization dedicated to the destruction of the Irken Race!"

"Racist," Gaz mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?"

"I said 'I'm ready to answer your questions now'!" she lied.

"Oh, yes. Right, so when did you first meet the Irken you were with?"

"About eight years ago," Gaz replied after giving it some thought.

"Under what circumstances?"

"He was trying to take over my planet."

"Did he succeed?"

"Sorta… If you count _destroying_ my planet as 'conquering' it."

Lard Nar and the cloaked figure exchanged glances.

"What is your relationship with the Irken?" Lard Nar continued.

"A lot of things…"

The little alien looked at Gaz, as if urging her to continue.

"Well, for about a little less than eight years there was no relationship to speak of, but then… I don't know. He saved me; back on my home planet… From some guys who wanted to hurt me." Lard Nar nodded for her to go on. "So, I took an interest in him. He took me to a dance, let me spend the night, offered himself as someone I could talk to… So it wasn't very long before we did it."

"Did what?"

"HAD SEX, STUPID! NOW, LET ME FINISH!" Gaz drew in a breath to calm herself before going on. "And now I'm pregnant… And it wasn't very long after I found out that he launched some big attack on Earth. Zim was going to have me killed, but for some reason he helped me escape. Now, we've just been wandering around in space… and then I got sick… Was I dehydrated?"

"Yes," replied the cloaked figure. "But your fluid levels are right where they should be now."

Gaz took a deep breath to keep from shedding tears. She knew the next question would be hard, but she had to brace herself for the inevitable answer. "Did I… Did I loose my baby?"

"No," replied the cloaked figure once more. "However, your incubating infant was the cause for your illness."

"What? No, I was just dehydrated because I was puking too much, and Zim didn't have any water," Gaz explained, but the cloaked figure only shook her head.

"Your illness was brought on by your own immune system. It was attacking your unborn-infant, as if it was an infectious agent. I had no choice but to give you drugs that would weaken your immunity. Your child will survive, but you are now highly susceptible to disease. I know that this is not good news, since you obviously don't get off your planet much, but rest assured that our craft is sterile, and so long as you remain on it, you will be safe," the cloaked alien assured.

"So, I'm stuck on this ship for my entire pregnancy?" Gaz asked. The cloaked alien nodded. Gaz exhaled loudly, and after a moment's consideration shook her head. "Whatever. It's worth it," she said aloud, in reference to her child.

"So, about the Irken," Lard Nar began again.

Gaz began to rant off any information she thought might answer any more of his questions, so he would leave her alone. "The child is Zim's. Yeah, I know; it sucks. Zim's kinda been nicer lately. I think he's going through a mid-life crisis, what, with a baby on the way. I got sick, and he's been trying to take care of me. When last I spoke to him, he said he was going to get me some water, so I wouldn't die of dehydration. No, I'm not his prisoner, because I could beat the snot out of him and leave if I wanted to. I just don't want to, because I don't know where I'd go after that…"

"Thank you," Lard Nar said after a moments pause. "That's all with the questions. Why don't you rest?"

"I think I will," Gaz said, and closed her eyes.

(Page Break)

Dib and Tak sat outside of the NASA Place ship by a campfire that MIMI made. The heat and light brought forth from the little fire in the dead of night was oddly comforting. Tak sat, her leg stretched out awkwardly in front of her, on the opposite side of the fire as Dib. MIMI came and went, always bringing twigs and whatnot to fuel the fire before running off to find more.

Dib stared into the orange flames for some time, enchanted by their glow, as nearly all humans were… some more than others. He decided to glance up at Tak. As soon as he did, both their eyes met for a brief and awkward moment before returning to the flames.

That's how it had been between them. Tak caught Dib looking at her and Dib caught Tak looking at him. Occasionally, the two of them caught each other, as they did just now, and both pairs of eyes were quickly averted. It was such an innocent thing, but it always made them blush.

Dib stared deep into the flames for nearly ten minutes. When he felt he had let enough time pass, he tried to sneak another peak. Tak was still staring at the fire, her antennas were low and her cheeks lightly flushed. Dib witched the reflection of the fire in her amethyst eyes. The flicker of the flames gave Tak an air of danger to her, as well as power, which melted into the cool, intelligence of her deep alien eyes.

There was a shift in the reflection of the fire, and it took Dib a minute to realize that Tak was staring right at him. '_Aw-!!_' Dib thought, and quickly looked at his feet. '_Sometimes I really wish she had pupils,_' the boy sulked, '_Then, I'd realize when she looked up at me and caught me looking at her like a jerk._' His face felt hot; he knew he was blushing. He just hoped that the fire helped hide the color of his cheeks.

Even though there had not been a single word passed between them, Dib felt that the situation was intensely awkward. He didn't feel like he could look up. Something had to be said, that much he knew. He had to say something, or he was going to be stuck staring at the ground all night.

"So, where'd ya go?"

Tak's antennas perked up as she looked over at the human. "Hmmm?"

"What happened to you after… That, uh… Thing… on Earth?" Dib rephrased awkwardly.

Tak leaned back and thought. For a moment, Dib thought she wasn't going to answer him, and the sinking awkward feeling returned. Then, she said, "You weren't there, but Zim somehow managed to gain control over MIMI. MIMI went about, wrecking my ship, until I had no choice but to abandon it. I tried to get in some last-minute words of revenge with Zim, but I don't think he got the message. So, I was shot off into space." She looked up for a brief moment, and saw Dib watching her with rapt attention with his posture slumped so he could lean forward and hug his knees. His eyes were wide with curiosity.

Tak drew in a breath. "I floated around aimlessly, not wanting to waste any fuel until I knew for sure where I was going. I couldn't go back to my home planet, because I was supposed to be serving on the custodial staff of planet Dirt. Plus, there really was just no where else. I spent my time repairing MIMI, but her personality has never been the same. She has these moments where she's just…. stupid.

"It wasn't long after I repaired MIMI that we got caught in your galaxy's asteroid belt. The more we tried to escape, the worst off we became. I don't remember that much from when my ship was crushed between two asteroids… I just remember waking up in intense pain and not being able to move. My left arm was shattered beyond repair… All it was good for was breeding blood clots that could travel to my brain and kill me…"

_MIMI! Help! I can't get up._

_AHHHHHH! M-my HAND! AGGGGGHHHH!!_

Tak shook the memories from her head and tried to continue. "MIMI has a medical program. She had no choice but to amputate… With no anesthetic, the process was nothing short of excruciating… I must admit that MIMI proved her resourcefulness in creating this robotic limb for me," Tak said, flexing her metal arm. "I wasn't conscious when she attached it. The pain from the amputation was too much to bear.

"She managed to keep watch over me until I was feeling better. We couldn't repair the ship, because MIMI used all the spare parts to repair me, so we stayed on the asteroid…. If I had died there, my only regret would have been not killing Zim when I had the chance… But about a year after the crash, we were able to get a ride with some aliens, who had just finished dropping a human off on your planet."

Dib suddenly remembered his Skool counselor, Mr. Dwicky, who had voluntarily gone with some aliens instead of staying on Earth and exposing Zim for what he was.

"I could have taken a ride with them back to Earth right then," Tak continued. "But I wasn't ready yet. I wanted to make sure that when I went back to Earth I would kill Zim… _slowly_… so _very_ slowly….

"After years of traveling, and some assassin work in the Universe's Black market, I felt like I was finally ready to set out and kill the Irken who had twice ruined my _life_!... But the funny thing is I never got around to it, at least not yet. Because the day I started out was the same day that I received a message from the Tallest. They wanted me to do a mission for them; the same mission that I wanted to do for myself. They wanted me to set out and find Zim, and kill him. He's stolen something very valuable from the Tallest, and now he's going to pay. He'll pay not just for stealing from the Empire and betraying the Tallest, but also for what he did to me…

"However, my plans are slightly delayed once more, due to the careless actions of a particular human, who's name shall not be given," Tak said looking over at Dib, who blushed once more. Even though she wanted to be mad at him, she found she couldn't. He was just so cute when he blushed, and he did it so often.

"Zim's ruined a lot of lives," Dib said, in a cold tone that took Tak by surprise. She leaned forward to listen to what the human had to say. "Zim laid low for a few years. I thought he was harmless, but I was wrong. Very wrong.

"Something happened this year… to my sister. I wasn't there, and I know I should have, because if I had been, then maybe she would still be here…" his voice trailed off. The two sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity, with the only sound being the occasionally crack from the fire. "Anyways," Dib suddenly continued, "Something happened to Gaz, and Zim was there instead of me. So, she just started talking to him. She got really defensive, and I think she may have thought that she loved him. I don't know. All I know is that she snuck off with him, and when she came back, she was pregnant…"

Dib saw Tak's questioning look and explained, "Humans, when we create offspring… it's, uh… When a guy and a girl love each other… well, no…. Ya see… Pregnancy is when… you have… the child, er, offspring… growing… inside you."

Tak looked a bit disgusted, but she seemed to understand. Dib went on, "Well, my sister was pregnant, and Zim was the father, or the male genetic donor if that makes more sense to you. I didn't find out about it until the day Zim launched his plan to take over Earth. Gaz left, probably to go talk to him, and that was the last I saw of her… In person, at least.

"I left Earth with my Dad. Him and the other great minds of our planet retreated to a space station that they had built just in case this kind of thing would ever happen. Only, they thought that humans would be the ones to blow our planet up, not aliens. Anyways, the Irkens blew up my planet. I thought Gaz was dead then, but she later contacted me on our communicators," he explained, showing Tak his watch.

"Gaz told me that she was alive, but Zim was going to kill her. I only had so much time to catch up with the Irken flagship, so I took one of the escape pods. I didn't really know how to fly it, so when I crashed into you… well, yeah… sorry."

Tak shrugged as if to say that it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Anyways, I've been trying to contact Gaz ever since we landed, er, crashed here, but I haven't gotten a signal… so… I'm too late," Dib said in a very final tone and hung his head in shame. "We never really got along that well, my sister and I, but we still loved each other. We were family, and I was her big brother. I was my job to protect her, but I couldn't do that. I let her down… again. Like I'm sure I did several times this year."

"Dib, come here," Tak ordered suddenly. Afraid to disobey, Dib scooted around over to her side of the fire. Her eyes followed him the entire time. He saw that the fire's reflection was intensified by his closeness. Her eyes glowed with its power. "What happened to your sister is not your fault-"

"But you don't understand. I didn't-"

"Dib, don't interrupt me. You may think that you could have done something different to save your sister, but you're wrong. You didn't fail your sister; Zim took her from you, just like he took away your planet and my life." She watched Dib's eyes drop to ground level.

"If I ever see Zim again," Dib said in a low voice, "I'm going to kill him; for Gaz, for her child, but mostly for me. I want him to feel what she must have felt when he did whatever he did to her to end her life. I want him to feel sorry, but I also want him to be afraid."

The fire snapped loudly. Dib looked up into Tak's eyes, but this time he didn't flinch. "I want Zim dead."

Tak stared back at him for the longest time. Just the look in his eyes, the same look she got when she spoke about Zim, was enough to convince her that Dib was quite serious.

"Good," she finally said, and turned away from him for a moment, so she wouldn't have to see all the hate in his eyes. "That makes two of us."

(End Chapter)

**Author's Notes**: Woot! I'm done and with exactly ten minutes to spare. I am simply amazing! Yeah, I intended for this chapter to be longer, but I decided to break it up into two chapters. If this makes you mad, then understand that if I DID make this chapter longer, you all would have to wait another two or three weeks for the update. So there! I still hope that you enjoy. This time, I'll do the thankyous…

DemonSurfer: Sorry, to disappoint you. Gaz will have her say to Zim, don't you worry.

Invader Johnny: Gaz told the truth and nothing more. I'm really looking forward to our crossover. SO MUCH FUN! (Breathes deep) Talk to ya later.

Broken Ember: Yes, feel sorry for the miserable human, but not too sorry, 'cause he wants to kill Zim. BAD DIBBEH!

XRaykaX: I'm glad that you still like it, sorry for the long update. Please enjoy.

geminidragon76: Yup, I'm real good at the suspenseful stuff. I hope you like!

Invader Sideos: Yes, much is happening. Let's hope Gaz doesn't loose the baby!

Endsville: Zim's chilled out a lot, true. He may really be going through a mid-life crisis, but we'll see what happens.

Abby: Enjoy, my friend. Enjoy.

Forever: I will always continue! Unless it is done.

Death Nymphetamine: Mmmm, cookies... WHA! You say dat you had duh babeh!! WTF?! How old's you????

SnowLion no Miko: No sweat. Thanks for finally reviewing

Da Mongoose: Glad that I could make you smile.

Zantor 7: Zim's life kinda sucks right now, but that's his fault, so don't feel too bad for him.

Just Crystalline: **!!ATTENTION!! WE HAVE REVIEWER NO. 100 RIGHT HERE!!** You've wona trip to the moon! (Throws moon at you) Yeah, the Resisty is a lot of fun to write about. They're so freakin' stoopid!! LOLZ

Ing Rimescale: Yay, someone finally acknowledges the themesong

Jak0TheShadows: Yay, another reader hopelessly addicted to my fic. Glad that you enjoy.

buggy500: Here's more, just like you asked.


	7. The Painful Truths

Unlikely Romance

**Author's Notes**: Sorry about my absence; it's called finals, and I had seven of them, but that's over now… Guess who's back?!? As if you didn't know… Well, I must say that I am a tad bit disappointed in my lack of outpour of reviews, so rather than update more frequently, I'm going to punish you all with a much despised SONG-FIC!!!!!! Be afraid… Be _VERY_ afraid! Don't worry, it's, like, two chapters down the road or something like that. I haven't quite made up my mind yet… We'll just have to see how this chapter goes….

You just gotta keep smiling and nodding… otherwise you realize how screwed we really are.

**DISCLAIMER**: The word 'Slorgak' was originally thought of by INVADER JOHNNY, and with his permission, I am using it in my fic. If you want to see it in its original context, go read WHEN A HUMAN LOVES AN IRKEN. It's listed under my favorites…

Chapter 7: The Painful Truths

Zim looked up at the sound of the mechanical door sliding open. Lard Nar now stood before him with Spleenk at his side. Zim raised an antenna, but nothing more.

Lard Nar grew impatient. "Well, c'mon now. Get up."

Zim sniffed, "I'm in no rush to be shot out of the airlock."

"You're not going to be shot out of the airlock."

Zim's eyes widened. '_What?_' his mind exclaimed. '_Why didn't she do it? After everything, why when she had the perfect opportunity to get rid of me, did she chose to let me live?_'

Reflecting over the events of the past few weeks, Zim found very little wrong with his actions. Yes, lying to Gaz and destroying her planet wasn't going to earn him brownie points, but he did it for the Empire, and at the time, that was all that mattered. But since his departure from the Massive, his main focus had been on Gaz and her well being. It was obvious that she still had malice towards him, but not enough so to have these bumbling aliens dispose of him.

'_Maybe she wants my death to be more personal than that…_' his mind ventured grimly. '_Wouldn't that just be ironic?_

'_And at the same time, well earned…_'

Zim stood and followed the two aliens out of the holding cell. As they guided him down to the medical bay, his mind pondered on what he would say to Gaz and prepared for what she might say to him. She would be mad, but the good thing about humans is that they forgive, or so Zim thought.

Gaz lay upright in her bed, her long amethyst hair in a tangled frizz around her face. A shadow fell across her face as Zim entered the room, and ironically, his brightened. When last he saw the girl, he honestly didn't think that she would pull through. Her body was shutting down from lack of fluids and the sudden spike in her temperature both confused and terrified him. She looked to be on the road to good health at the moment. He pulled up a chair beside her bed.

Gaz rolled over to face away from him, and saw the cluster of Resisty members hovering in the doorway. "What?" she demanded, her gaze dark.

"I… We were just…" Lard Nar stuttered, looking everywhere except Gaz's eyes.

"I've never seen Slorgaks before," Spleenk muttered as if only saying it for the sake of saying it.

"Huh?" Gaz's expression rapidly changed from one of sheer doom to utter confusion.

"Get out," Zim growled. The Resisty members only needed to see the narrow red slits of Zim's eyes to know that now was not the time to oppose him. They promptly left, shutting the door behind them.

Gaz rolled over to face Zim. "What the hell is a Slorgass?"

"I believe he said 'Slorg_ak_'…" Zim corrected. "…It's, well, two different species who… love each other…"

"… Oh…." Gaz turned away from Zim. She didn't want to see the look in his eyes. '_Why should he be sad? He's the one who screwed up! I'm the one who was hurt, not him. His planet wasn't destroyed. His brother isn't wandering around in space. And he certainly isn't _pregnant_!! So what does _he_ have to be sad about?_

'_And Slorgaks? Hell, no!! I don't love anything!... Well… maybe I love a few things… But certainly not ZIM!! No way! Uh-uh. He can go to Hell in a handbag and I'll be the one to send him off._'

"Gaz… I wanted to thank you."

'_Huh?_' Gaz thought.

"You easily could have had me thrown out of the airlock…. and you didn't… Does that-"

"Zim," Gaz quickly interrupted before he could finish. "Don't…. make any conclusions… I'm tired."

Zim looked at the floor. "Then you rest. I'll be in to check on you…"

Gaz remained silent, hoping that Zim would think she was sleeping and leave. But he didn't, at least, not right away. He waited by her bedside, watching her. Zim reached out to stroke her hair, something he often did when she was asleep, but he decided against it at the last second. He pulled his hand away from her, and just watched her sleep, longingly.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her, thinking she was asleep, and he left the room.

'_No Zim_,' Gaz thought, as her grip tightened on her pillow. '_You aren't. But you will be…_'

(Page Break)

"Dib…"

Dib looked up. He had merely been poking at the fire for the past thirty minutes after he promised Tak he'd come to bed in five.

"Sorry, I stopped to think and I forgot to start again," he replied lamely, offering a weak smile.

Tak eyed him gently with her glossy, amethyst orbs. "Your sister?"

"Yeah…" he mumbled as he dropped his gaze. "It's just that she's my family and I know I should just move on an-"

"Shhhh…. You're tired, human… Come to bed," she commanded gently, and laid back down.

Sighing, Dib stood up and idly brushed the sand off of his jeans; it had become a habit of his to do so before entering the ship that served as his bedroom. He saw so much sand during the day that he did his best to keep it away from himself while he slept. He made his way over to the ship and kicked his shoes off before stepping in. He knew that the wind would bury them by morning, but that wasn't a big deal to him. '_I always find them in the morning, don't I?_' he thought.

He avoided Tak gracefully and lay down by her side. He waited for her to acknowledge him, but she said nothing.

"You asleep?" he finally asked.

She rolled over to face him. "No, but you should soon. You're of no use to me tired, weak, and sickly. If you lose sleep, you'll try to make up for it while fixing my ship tomorrow, and end up dying of electric shock."

"Oh, I'm only useful in fixing your ship?" Dib asked, a bit insulted but also too tired to care.

Tak smiled, "Well, maybe not just that. I'd need someone to tend the fire, fetch food, help me recuperate from my injury-"

"It's nice to know I'm needed-"

"_And_… I'd miss your company."

Dib's eyes widened slightly and he suddenly felt as though his need for sleep wasn't as dire. "I wasn't expecting that," he mumbled groggily.

"Well, it's how I feel. You'd be sorely missed if you died tomorrow, so get some rest tonight," Tak commanded and rolled over.

"You know," Dib began with a yawn. "We wouldn't have to worry about me so much if you'd let me sleep in an extra hour tomorrow," he explained, trying to sit up.

Tak instantly rolled over and before Dib could do anything about it, their lips met. '_HOLY SH-_" Dib's mind began but the thought was quickly lost in a wave of emotion. New thoughts replaced it, like, '_Oh wow, my first kiss! I can't believe – This is the first person I've felt this way about! Did she plan this? Why are my pants suddenly tighter? Wow. How do I get my heart out of my throat and back into my chest? My stomach feels lighter than air. Creepy._'

And all the thoughts vanished as Tak just as suddenly pulled away. "Go to sleep, Dib. You'll have some extra time, but not much."

"Okay," Dib said, and lay back down. Strangely, he wasn't the least bit tired.

(Page Break)

(Three Months Later)

Zim and Gaz sat at opposite ends of the table in the Resisty's food court. The two stared at each other occasionally, usually when the other wasn't looking. Tensions had grown to an all time high between them. They had barely said a word to each other in months, and things didn't appear to be getting better between them.

The Resisty members watched the two in their heavy silence. Their action, upon boarding the ship, have all been painstakingly recorded by Spleenk. He titled this log "The Young and the Slorgaks" and it was becoming as popular as a soap opera on the Resisty's ship – since the poor crew had nothing else to entertain themselves with.

A normal day went something like this:

_Gaz – of Earth – has now exited her room. She has high hopes of getting some Smaggle Gaks out of the pantry, no doubt… Those are my favorites! Okay, okay so now, the ugly Irken scum is coming down the hall. Oh my! It looks like they'll meet in the center! What will they do? What will he say to her?! Or her to him!_

"_Spleenk!" Gaz – of Earth – suddenly screams. "Quit narrating my life like it's some crappy soap opera!"_

_What will this stunning turn of events mean for the ugly Irken scum? It looks like he's gonna say something. Yes, he's opening his mouth. He raises his hand, AND…_

_Gaz – of Earth – walks right by him. Treats him like he's less than a slorbees. Oh, my. Will this be the end of their forbidden love? Find out tomorrow on the next installment of-_

Unfortunately, Zim knocked Spleenk out before he could finish his sentence, but this is how things were between Zim and Gaz: a tense situation, ready to boil over at a moment's notice.

"Man, this is getting' good," Shloonktapooxis mumbled to himself.

"Unlike Zim," Gaz grumbled.

Zim raised an antenna. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me. Here, I'll try to put it in a way you can understand: You're. A. LIAR!"

"ENOUGH!" Zim yelled. "I will not have you continue to punish me for somethin that is behind us."

"You think that time will make me _forget_?! Wow, Zim, you're even _stupider_ that you _look_, and _that's_ saying something."

"Watch your mouth!"

"NO, ZIM! YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR ME OUT!" Gaz screamed loud enough to cause her voice to crack. "You lied to me. You _betrayed_ me. You destroyed everything. I have _nothing_, because of you!"

"I was wrong, I know, and I apologized."

"Apologized?! Zim, don't you think it's a bit late. Sorry isn't going to bring back Earth… Sorry, isn't going to bring back all those people _you_ killed. Sorry isn't going to protect my brother from god knows what he's run into in his quest to find me. And sorry certainly won't make the pain go away," Gaz concluded, now in tears.

Zim stood up to approach her. "Gaz, I-"

"NO! STAY BACK!!" she shrieked through her tears. "You've caused enough damage, and sorry won't make it better. Sorry isn't going to make this situation better anymore than it's going to get your spawn out of me!"

"How dare you bring our smeet into this?" Zim growled.

Gaz laughed. "_Our smeet_? Zim, I think that you're forgetting that it's _my baby_! It's _mine_! It's the last thing that I have in this life that you haven't ruined! Yes, I wish to god I wasn't pregnant right now, but I am. So, I plan to be the mother of my child."

"And I-"

"No, Zim, you weren't listening. It's my child, and you will have nothing to do with it!"

Zim snarled, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. His eyes were flaring with the inferno that now raged within him.

"This looks like trou-ble," Spleenk mumbled silently.

"You-you-you… HUMAN!" Zim spat. "How dare you act as though you were the only being in this Universe who's ever been lied to?! I lied, yes. I used you, yes. Am I proud of it? No. I love you, Gaz-"

"Pfft," Gaz sighed disbelievingly and rolled her eyes.

"Stop that!! It's true. If I knew then what I know now, I never would have done it!"

"Liar," Gaz growled.

"NO! _Not_ lying! I thought that for what I was doing I would finally be respected by my people. I am an outsider among my people, Gaz, _that_ was not a lie! I thought that I could get my life back. But I learned that my leaders never intended for me to regain my honor…" Zim said, and trailed off.

"Oh, cry me a river. That, Zim, is what we _humans_ call karma, and I've never met someone who deserved it more than you!"

"And the smeet…" Zim's voice trailed off again.

It took Gaz a moment to realize why Zim kept trailing off, but finally she saw the tears streaming down his cheeks.

"This is gettin' good," Shloonktapooxis repeated to Spleenk, who nodded in agreement.

"The smeet," Zim explained, forcing the words through his tears, "Will be the only one."

"What do you mean?" Gaz asked suspiciously.

"Most Irkens my age have well over a hundred smeets, but for some reason that I'm realizing now, my Tallest never assigned me a mate. I figured that they didn't want me distracted, but now I realize that they wanted me out of the gene pool all along…" he trailed off once more as he choked on a sob.

"This smeet is all that I have in this world as well," he finally continued, "and I want nothing more than to know it, no matter what that means. I betrayed you, Gaz, and I have suffered through your silence and abuse for it. But know this, you weren't the only one who was betrayed. You weren't mocked by your planet. _You_ at least had family who loved you. YOU were not forced to live a lie at the AMUSEMENT OF AN ENTIRE EMPIRE!!!!" Zim shrieked, his words echoing throughout the room.

Before the ringing of his words began to fade, he stormed out of the food court, without waiting for Gaz to reply.

(End Chapter)

**Author's Notes**: Woo, what an explosion that was. It's now 1:35 in the morning and I'm TIRED. I hope this chapter is as good as I think it is, because I don't have the time or energy to spell check. Thank you for those who have stayed loyal despite my inconsistent posting. This story, trilogy-thingy WILL be finished. I'll post again in 2-3 weeks, (bet on 3) but after that I promise to be more consistent. Thank you reviewers, I love you, continue to do the reviewing thing you do. me not brain no more, no care' bout grammar. -.- zzzzzzz


	8. Broken Hearts

Unlikely Romance

**Author's Notes**: (Inhales deeply) Ahhhhh! The stink of summer. I've missed it so. And reviews. I miss them more; not being able to read them until the day of posting is kinda maddening when I think about it. I don't know whether to be happy with my readers or morbidly disappointed with them. Dilemmas… dilemmas…. But I'll deal with them. And just so you're all warned, you all haven't escaped the horrible SONG-FIC that I have planned somewhere in here; it may be this chapter, it may be the next, or the one after… you don't know, and that's funny! ATTENTION!!: If you haven't been getting an adequate fix of the Unlikely series, check out my bio page, where it has the summary of the final story of the trilogy: Unlikely Sacrifice. Included is also a list of other fics I have in mind. Let me know what you think in a PM or review. Thx for listening to my ramblings. Lurb. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

**Disclaimer**: My loyal friend, and dedicated reader, Abby, is the inventor of Noomber Thrty Nien and all its wonderful wonderfulness. THANK HER FOR IT!!

"I'm going to kill you, snort your crushed bones, and write a fic! See how many reviews that gets me!"

-My Emo Friend

Chapter 8: Broken Hearts

(Roughly a week later)

Gaz's eyes flew open as she sat up in bed. Her heart pounded in her chest and she was covered in a cold sweat. She brought a hand up to her chest in a futile attempt to steady her heart or breathing, but her hand shook too much for it to do any good. She laid back into place, crossed her shaking arms over her eyes, and concentrated solely on her breathing.

"You don't love him!" she told herself and growled as more of the nightmare came back to her. In it, she wandered down to Zim's room with the purpose of repairing the bridge between them. Not that she was the one who would do the repairing, figuratively. She was pregnant, noticeably now, and pregnant women don't work to repair bridges, especially when they weren't the ones who ruined the bridge in the first place.

Although, Zim was her child's father, and having been neglected as a child herself, she knew what it was like to grow up without a very influential male figure in her life. Gaz felt that she turned out fine (as fine as any girl who was ignored by her father, hooked up with an alien, got knocked-up by said alien, and all-in-all, provided said alien with opportunity to destroy Earth could be) but it was not a future that she wanted for her child if she could help it. And Zim appeared to really want to be there for her and the baby. He was trying very hard, despite all of Gaz's attempts to pull him away.

So, in her dream, Gaz wandered down the abnormally long corridor (strangely akin of her original nightmare where she walked in on Dib killing Zim) to Zim's bedroom. Instead of the door being locked, like Zim usually has it at night, it was slightly ajar. She knew right away that something was wrong, that she wouldn't like what was on the other side of the door, but she couldn't help herself. She stepped closer so the automatic door would slide all the way open.

She was instantly washed in a pale-yellow glow, similar of a dimming light bulb (or a burning torch). She was stunned to find Zim's room torn to shreds: The drawers were pulled out of the walls and Zim's clothes lay randomly about the room, mingling with his shredded bed sheets, the automatic bathroom door was broken, so it could not shut any further than halfway, and Zim's mattress was flipped on the other side of the room, ripped open, and its springs jutting out at odd angles.

Gaz had gasped and entered further into the room, far enough for the automatic to slide back in to place, only this time it closed all the way. So Gaz stepped cautiously among the debris, searching for Zim. She didn't have to look too hard.

"ZIM!!" she screeched in horror as she saw him lying beside his overturned mattress. He was extremely pale, which was normal, since he was surrounded by a pool of his own blood. Gaz saw that he had impaled himself on one of the iron bars that composed his bed. She dropped to her knees beside him, her nightgown soaking up his blood. She was sobbing now, but now amount of tears would blur her vision no matter how terrible the sight was to behold. "Why?" she asked pitifully and groped for his hand. Once she found it, she took it in both of her own.

Zim's eyes rolled to face her. He tried to move the rest of his body, but found that he couldn't. His weak attempt made Gaz cringe and brought on a fresh wave of tears. He wetted his lips and replied in a small voice, "I couldn't take it… I just… couldn't… make you… happy… anymore… I'm sorry…"

"I know you're sorry! I've always known you were sorry! I never wanted you to die!" she cried holding his hand to her chest.

Zim let out what was either a cough or a self-mocking laugh. "I guess… I just… messed up again…"

"No, this can be fixed. Don't talk like that, Zim. I-I'll call in the doctors. The have d-doctors h-here. W-we'll get you f-f-fixed," she forced through her sobs and even as her vision finally began to blur, she could still see Zim barely shaking his head.

"It's… too late… now…. I'll die-"

"N-no. NonoNO!-"

"And… I deserve… it…"

"No, y-y-you don't! Y-you've done b-bad th-things, but y-you don't de-serve to d-DIE!" Gaz shrieked verging on hysterics as she furiously wiped her eyes.

"… Yes… I do…" Zim replied solemnly

"Bu-but… What about me?... What about our baby?!" Gaz asked, staring him straight in the eyes.

"You'll get… to… raise him… by… yourself… Like you wanted… all along."

"No, Zim, I don't. You're the father! I want the baby to know you! You can't go! Zim! ZIM!" she kept calling, and even as his eyes glazed over in death, she continued to plea, "No, Zim, don't leave me! Please don't leave me alone! I don't want to do this alone! I never wanted – I never _intended_ to do this alone! I need your help, Zim! I need _you_, Zim! Please help me, Zim! I still love you!" until she finally woke up.

Now wide awake, Gaz finished recounted her nightmare, and wiped away the unwanted tears that came with it. "Why? _Why_? WHY? I want to hate him! I want so _badly_ to hate him!" she said out loud, and thought, '_Hating people has never been a problem for me before, so why is it now? And with Zim? He should be the easiest person in the world to hate right now. Maybe even the Universe, but I can't. Why?_

'_Okay, I'll make a list of reasons to like and hate him, and I'll use logic to show myself why all these feelings for him are obviously pregnancy-related._

'_So, reasons I hate Zim: One, he lied to me. Two, he used me. Three, he destroyed my planet. Four, he knocked me UP!! Five, he tired to kill me. Six, he… Wow, is that it? Okay, I've got five reasons to hate him. Five _good_ reasons._

'_Reasons to like Zim: One, he paid attention to me when no one else would. Two, he took me to my Skool dance. Three, I've lied before too, even though my lies have never blown up a planet… but it would be kinda neat if they did. So, I'll give Zim some credit for that. Four, he may have used me, but he did apologize…Nope, not good enough. I'll try that again; four, he did destroy my planet, but I never really liked Earth in the first place. And all the people I care about survived, like Dib and Dad, so I can't be too mad at Zim for that. Five, he knocked me up… and to be totally honest with myself I don't really know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Right now it seems bad, but in a few years, I may want to thank him for it… Doesn't matter; good or bad, I fully intend to tear his nuts off while I'm giving birth, just to give him an idea of what I'm going through. Six, he tried to kill me… but he didn't. He actually helped me escape. And… he even saved my life. Yes, that deserves to be seven, he saved my life… Oh, and eight, he saved the baby's life too._

' _Oh, this is _NOT_ helping! I have eight reasons to like Zim and only five reasons to hate him! This is terrible!!_'

"_I guess… I just… messed up again…"_

Gaz shook her dream-Zim's words out of her head. "Yes, you messed up, and no, I don't love you!"

'_Sheesh, listen to yourself. You're lying to yourself just like he lied to you; hypocrite._'

Gaz yelled in frustration and threw her pillow up against the wall. She violently kicked off the covers and slipped on her shoes. It really was time for her to talk to Zim, and she knew it. Even if it was one of the odd hours of the night, she knew that she needed to talk to him. It was now or never.

'_But seriously,_' she thought as she exited her room. '_Won't Zim think I'm absolutely nuts for coming to him in the middle of the night? Wouldn't it just be easier to talk to him tomorrow?_

'_No,_' she told herself sternly. '_Now or never; remember? It's to easy to keep putting this off, but it's better not to. And since when did I care about what anyone thought of me?_'

With that in mind, Gaz strolled down to Zim's room with confidence. That is, until she saw his door.

'_No,_' her mind whispered. '_Not again. Not twice in the same night!_

'_Get a grip!_' she ordered herself. '_It's not my stupid nightmare. This just proves that the Resisty's ship is a total junk heap – something I knew all along. The doors stick all the time; there's nothing to be afraid of._'

Gaz nodded and swallowed thickly. Her heart was racing again, but she didn't seem to notice. She put a hand out to alert the motion sensor on the wall when suddenly she heard a crash from within. She withdrew her hand.

'_Now or never? Well, never's starting to look pretty good._

'_Stop it; this is ridiculous. Zim probably just knocking something over._

'_As he impaled himself?_

'_Don't joke like that; you'll freak yourself out._

'_I'm already freaked out._

'_Don't be._

'_I'm trying!_'

Gaz drew a deep breath and thrust her hand out in front of the motion sensor. Zim's door slid open, revealing his room. It was pitch-black, and Gaz couldn't see Zim or what made the crash. She felt herself shaking and told herself to stop, and despite the sick feeling she had in her gut that pleaded with her to return to her room, she entered.

The door slid back shut, but not all the way. She heard it catch and stop about an inch from the jam. '_Junk heap_,' her mind soothed and she walked over to Zim's bed. She first felt around for a lamp but had no luck. She swore and fumbled around for Zim in the dark. She found his bed, his pillow, his sheets… but no Zim. She felt her dread from earlier come back.

'_Better go check on the side of the bed,_' she thought morbidly. After realizing how paranoid and scared she was, a small giggle escaped her.

She heard a noise. Muffled though.

"Who's there?" Zim demanded. Gaz nearly jumped out of her skin. '_Jeez, he's in the bathroom. At two-something in the morning? Oh, well. Who am I to judge? I'm the one in his bedroom freaking out over some nightmare,_' she thought, and giggled again.

Before she could reply, Zim's bathroom door slid open and Gaz was bathed in a soft, yellow glow. She looked up from the bed and saw Zim's silhouette standing in the bathroom door.

"Gaz?" he asked, surprised. He began to approach her, arms outstretched, saying, "What are you doing in here?" before he realized he shouldn't have. But by then it was too late. Gaz's eyes darted straight to his arms and widened in horror. She began to back away from him, her mouth jaw dropped, but the scream trapped in her throat. He dropped his arms, but he already knew that the damage was done. She continued to retreat until she was flat against the wall. "Gaz, I can explain," But he knew as he said it that it was too late for that.

Gaz was in a sheer panic. '_His arms! Oh, my god; his _ARMS' her mind shrieked as she watched the tiny, green rivers of blood flow freely down Zim's bare arms where they dropped off of his fingertips on to the floor. She continued to back away from him, even though she knew that there was nowhere left to go; no where left to escape. Her nightmare was now a reality and the raw terror that now flooded her body was more than she could bear. '_I'm not going to scream. I'm not going to scream. I'm not going to scream I'm not going to scream I'mnotgoingtoscream!!_'

"Gaz!" Zim called, and grabbed the frightened girl before her shrieks woke up the rest of the ship.

(Page Break)

"How's it look?"

"Not bad… I guess."

"You guess?"

"Hmmm-hmmm… It's so obvious that a human just threw my ship back together in such a shabby way. I'm actually disappointed."

"Pffft."

"And if I wasn't here to finish the electrical repairs and restore the main system, I doubt this ship would fly at all."

"Well, if it doesn't, then it's because I followed your crappy instructions."

Tak turned and glared at Dib playfully. "Oh, and you could've fixed it better yourself?"

Dib shrugged. "Probably… If I wasn't so busy taking care of you all the time."

"Humph." Tak pushed Dib flat on his butt down in the sand. "Alright, enough flirting. My real evaluation is that you did pretty well with what you had to work with. This ship should get us to a planet where we could get some real repairs. I have a Cornarian who owes me a few favors, and he's not too far from here. I think this ship will hold together until we get there."

"How's your leg?"

"Better than the ship, but it hurts like something awful if I stand for too long."

"So, sit down."

"No."

Dib sighed and stood up himself. "You are so stubborn sometimes."

"Hush. Go back to your ship and grab any supplies we need. We're leaving before nightfall."

"What?" Dib called, stumbling a bit as he headed back for the ship. "Why?"

"My, you're inquisitive today. We're leaving because tomorrow is The Great Migration," Tak replied as she followed the human.

"Would you yell at me if I asked what The Great Migration is?"

Tak shook her head. "You should know by now that the planet we're on is Noomber Thrty Nien."

"Yes, I remember you telling me."

"Well, the inhabitants here are nothing short of crazy. They hold religious riots weekly right outside of the home of their leader, the Grand Jaba."

"Wow, that sucks."

Tak shook her head. "The Grand Jaba is the one that authorizes it. Actually _demands_ it. Among other things, the Grand Jaba has selected anarchy as the planet's religion, declared every day to be Pizza Day, and holds the Great Migration every year. Your question was 'what's The Great Migration?' and to answer, it is what it says. A Great Migration. Across this very desert. The Grand Jaba orders all inhabitants of the planet – old, young, sick, dying – to cross this desert on foot, and they must do so wearing three layers of black clothing, and they must do so without food or water."

Dib stared at her in disbelief. "That's… That's _insane_. And the people agree to that?"

"They don't just agree, they _like_ it. Now, hurry up and grab your things; I want to be off this planet before nightfall."

"That makes two of us," Dib said, and followed Tak back to his ship's wreckage.

(Page Break)

The room was silent. Gaz sat on Zim's bed, eyes damp and swollen, hair beyond mending – unless she took a shower – and her hands folded tightly in her lap. She listened as Zim cursed in the bathroom.

"How long?" she finally asked and marveled at how far away her voice sounded. She wished she could be that far away.

Zim peeked out of the bathroom to look at her. "Hmmm?"

"I asked you 'how long have you been doing this to yourself'?" she repeated without any annoyance.

"Scratching myself?"

Gaz nodded.

Zim shrugged and went back into the bathroom. "I can't say for sure how long," he answered as he looked for some gauze. "I've been doing it on and off for years."

"When did you start?"

Zim thought. "About eight years ago," he said and finally found the gauze. "When the Tallest finally told me the truth about my mission."

"Why did you do it?"

Zim was silent. It had never occurred to him to question why he did it; why he hurt himself. He just did it on impulse or when his body told him that he needed to. It was a deep psychological need, something he didn't entirely understand. He had no idea how to explain that to Gaz. But he tried anyways.

"After the Tallest told me… I don't know. Nothing seemed real any more. Life was… somewhat of a dream… a nightmare. I wandered around in a daze, wondering why I was still alive. My purpose for living was gone; therefore, I must be dead. There is no place in society for Irkens who have no purposes. I was lost.

"I remember feeling angry all the time. I usually took it out on GIR, but there were times when he wasn't around and I had to face my anger alone. There was I time when I stayed at the darkest corner of my base for days, trying to find the place where my life went so wrong. I found several, and that only made me madder.

"I was mad at GIR for always screwing things up, I was mad at Dib for always figuring out my plans, I was mad at the humans for being so… _oblivious_ and just _begging_ to be conquered, I was angry at the control brains for banishing me and taking away my status, I was mad at the Tallest for never telling me the truth and laughing as my life went so far off course, I was mad at my people for laughing with my Tallest and agreeing to secrecy as well, and finally I was mad at myself – furious even – for not seeing the truth sooner; for not _wanting_ to see it.

"Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew what was going on, but I refused to believe it. Because I wanted to cling to the small hope that things weren't as bad as they seemed, that maybe that back part of my mind was exaggerating things. But that was a lie. So I hated myself for lying. You see, Gaz, the irony here is that _I_ hate liars too. I hated the fact that I lied to myself for over a century! That I refused to change, and because of that how I was alone. That no one cared enough about me to tell me the truth until it was too late to change.

"That's when I made the decision that I wouldn't care about myself."

"I still don't know exactly when this started," he said, bandaging up his shredded arms. "But I'm guessing maybe two weeks after I got the news. I don't remember doing it the first time… I don't remember doing it any time. I just came to except that the marks were there and that I deserved them."

He swore and Gaz heard something drop in the sink. She stood up and looked into the bathroom. Zim sat on the floor, curled in fetal position with his head resting on his knees and his arms at his sides. One was partially bandaged, and the gauze trailed off over to the shower where the roll lay. Gaz picked up the roll and began to wind it up. She slowly made her way across the bathroom over to Zim. Once there, she carefully lifted his arm and continued wrapping it. She watched, almost entranced, as the deep gouges, no longer bleeding, and the endless streams of old scars were coved by a layer of white. She sighed with relief when she made it to his wrist.

"You don't have to," Zim whispered, his voice weak and broken. He turned to face Gaz with an expression that was so wounded and miserable that she had to look away. "I haven't done you any favors."

"…Yes."

Zim dropped his head.

"No, Zim. I mean 'yes, you have'. If it weren't for you, I'd be dead of dehydration," she explained as she moved over to his other arm and began to wrap it too.

"If it weren't for me, you'd still be on Earth with your family," Zim replied curtly and gently took the gauze from Gaz. "It's late. You should be in bed."

"But your arms. You can't wrap it yourself; you'll reopen the wounds on the other arm."

"I'll chance it."

"Zim, you're being stubborn," she said, growing irritated.

"Well, I'm not the only one," he snapped back.

Gaz growled. "Can't you just admit that you need some help?"

"Yes! I do need help; I admit it!"

"Then let me help you!"

"No!"

"Why!"

"Because!" Zim snapped, looking Gaz directly in the eyes. She gasped at how dead they looked despite their heated argument. He dropped his head and sighed deeply, like all his emotions were rushing out of him. "Because I'm not worthy of you. Of your time. I've mistreated you, and I don't deserve your care. I'll clean up my own mess."

"Zim-"

"It would _help_ me to know that you are sleeping peacefully in your room… Please…"

The two of them stood at the same time. Gaz reached one more time for the gauze but Zim held it out of her reached. Gaz exhaled and walked to the door, Zim close behind. The motion-sensor detected their presence and the door slid open, revealing the silent hall. Gaz stepped out and looked at Zim. He looked as though he badly wanted to tell her something, but he remained silent. She hesitated only a moment longer, and when she realized he was not going to speak, she left for her room.

(End Chapter)

**Author's Notes**: Finally. There you are to all the people who wanted a long chapter. I hope this satisfies you. WARNING: NEXT CHAPTER WILL HAVE BE A SONGFIC. DEAL. WITH. IT. As for other announcements, I'm going on a Youth Leadership Program thingy. I was one of two kids chosen from my state to go, and I'll be in Washington D.C. for ten days. This will probably affect my ability to post, but for the rest of the summer, I should be fairly regular. Thankies to my beloved readers.


	9. Boiling Point

Unlikely Romance

**Author's Notes**: Woot, I'm back. And a little early at that…. DON'T GET USED TO IT!!! This was just a fluke since I'm spending the day with my dad. So I decided to prepare this chapter for ya'll. I hope you like it.

**!!ATTENTION! KINDA IMPORTANT!!**: Okay, I'm starting to get REALLY desperate for some fanart, peoples. So, I'm gonna old me a little contest. IF ANYONE VOLUNTEERS OR FORCES A FRIEND TO DRAW ME SOME FANART FOR THE "UNLIKELY" TRILOGY, I WILL SEND THEM – VIA E-MAIL – A SPECIAL SNEAK PREVIEW OF UNLIKELY SACRAFICE, THE FINAL ADDITION TO THE TRILOGY. This offer only applies to those who send me fanart. Let's see where that gets me. XP

"Some days my IQ drops just from listening to me talk."

-My Bestest Friend

Chapter 9: Boiling Point

Dib watched with an odd mixture of relief and regret as the planet of Noomber Thrty Nien slowly shrank to marble size behind them: relief that they were able to escape before The Great Migration, and regret at leaving the location of his first kiss.

"Something wrong?" Tak asked, having noticed Dib's solemn expression.

"Huh? Oh, no. I'm fine. It's just… Having lived there for three months… I donno," he replied with a shrug.

Tak nodded. "Yes, I got a bit comfortable myself, but we can't let that distract us from the task at hand." She watched with a feeling of unease as Dib's eyes darkened. His hand twisted into a fist in his lap.

"Right," he mumbled in a low voice. '_Zim_.'

Tak reached over and placed a hand on Dib's thigh. Dib jumped and looked up at her. She said nothing; she only smiled at him before returning her gaze to the vast void beyond them, leaving her hand in place.

Dib felt his anger melt away, and at the same time it was replaced with a warm feeling. He felt safe, and even happy… And even slightly aroused.

He blushed sharply at how his body had reacted to the innocent touch. Ever since the kiss, small exchanges between them often had embarrassing consequences for Dib. He prayed that Tak didn't notice, and thus far it hadn't seemed that she did… And if she did, her expression never betrayed her. He had also begun to watch her more. At first he said that he was just doing it to keep his mind off of his sister, but he knew that that was a lie. He was getting feelings for Tak. But whether or not it was love he didn't know.

'_It could just be an infatuation,_' he told himself. '_She _is_ the first and only girl to ever pay attention to me… Besides Gretchen…_'

Dib was surprised at how suddenly and swiftly his anger had returned at the thought of Gretchen. To him, it seemed that just yesterday she had accompanied him to the Skool Dance. But he knew that wasn't so. Gretchen had been dead for over three months now; her and everyone else on Earth who had died so suddenly in the explosion. In fact, the magnitude of the loss was so great that it hadn't even fully sunk in yet. Dib knew this to be true. He knew that if the enormity of the loss sunk in, it would drive him insane; truly insane.

'_And it will all be because of ZIM!_' Dib hissed in his mind and entertained himself with fantasies of how he would make the Irken suffer for what he did to humanity.

Tak cast a wary glance over towards her human companion only to find him lost within the darkest corners of his mind, grinning evilly. It made her more than uncomfortable when he got like this; it outright frightened her. When he became this angry, she felt as though she no longer knew him. Like he is a stranger. She turned away, not wanting to see the darkness in his eyes. "We'll be landing soon."

Dib didn't reply. Tak wasn't even sure that he heard her, but she wasn't going to talk to him again. She knew he was drowning in his anger, and she didn't want to get dragged down to the bottom of his hate with him. '_He'll come out of it_,' she thought. '_He always does… He'll be better by nightfall._'

(Page Break)

Zim sat at the table in the Resisty's food court. He twirled his fork idly between his thumb and first finger, watching the streams the prongs made as they raked through the grey blob the Resisty had provided him for breakfast. He looked away from the gashes; they only served as a reminded for what had conspired during the night. That and the dull throb in his arms.

Nobody but Gaz knew about the lacerations that ruined his arms. He had not told the Resisty and he doubted that they would find out on their own. The long sleeves from his Invader uniform hid the gauze. All that Lard Nar noticed was that the Irken was a bit stiff this morning and nothing more.

This pleased Zim. His dirty secret was safe for the time being. '_That is if Gaz doesn't say anything,_' Zim mused, but he doubted that the girl would even want to talk to him about what happened. If she spoke at all. '_Her voice might be hoarse from the scream_,' he pondered with a pang of guilt, remembering the sheer horror in Gaz's eyes when she saw his arms.

A loud clang snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked down at the fork and saw that he had stabbed clean through his blob (which had a similar consistency to mashed potatoes) to the plate. He sighed wearily. He really didn't want to eat, although his stomach argued otherwise. He found his predicament slightly amusing. '_I'm truly hungry for the first time this year, and I'm so nauseous I don't feel like eating._' In fact, Zim never usually had to eat unless he had depleted a lot of his energy with a physical task or he was injured. '_Injured or no, I'd have to be dying to want to eat this… _dirt' Zim thought with disgust and pushed the plate away.

As he looked up he noticed someone coming down to the food court. At first he identified the figure, by her purple cloak, as the nurse who had saved Gaz when they first arrived, but as she drew closer, Zim realized it was Gaz herself. She drew out a chair randomly from the table and sat while Zim silently admired how the cloak complemented her hair. Impulsively he cleared his throat and Gaz looked up at him.

"What?" she asked, though not entirely unkindly.

Zim dropped his eyes immediately. "I just wondered why you were wearing that," he lied.

Gaz looked at the cloak and shrugged. "I outgrew my other clothes."

"Outgrew?" he asked looking up at her.

She looked away. "Yeah… I'm finding it hard to believe that I'm only three months and I'm already showing… I've already had the cravings and whatnot… I'm just glad that the puking is over… Now, I can look forward to swollen ankles, backaches, mood swings… all while ballooning out to the size of a whale," she stated, and chuckled softly at her predicament, although there was no humor in it. She looked over at Zim to see what he was doing. She found him staring back at her uncomprehendingly. "Stop it. You look stupid."

Zim looked back at his food. "…Tell me again why you must endure all these unpleasant changes."

Gaz sighed. "Because I'm having your baby, you twit."

Zim froze. It was the first time since leaving Earth that Gaz had admitted to him that he had ownership with their child. Gaz looked out a nearby window, ignoring his expression. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Gaz stared silently out the window for a long time. When Zim was sure she wasn't going to answer him, she said, "No… Not now." Zim nodded and looked away. "But… I _guess_ you can get me something to eat."

Zim pushed his plate to her. "Have mine. I haven't touched it."

Gaz looked at the mutilated blob and said, "I find that hard to believe."

"Well, I… I didn't take a bite, I just…"

Gaz accepted the plate and examined the blob. "Is it any good?"

Zim shrugged, "How would I know? I haven't taken a bite of it, remember?"

"Don't push it, Zim," Gaz warned. "I just wanted to know if you'd had it before."

Zim nodded. "Once. It somewhat reminds me of you human's ice-cream, only without the burning, painful part."

Gaz eagerly took a bite. Zim was right, it did taste like ice-cream; luke-warm ice-cream with the texture of applesauce. '_Beggars can't be choosers,_' she told herself, and took another bite. Six bites later, she was able to ignore the texture and found that she liked it, even though she thought it looked and smelled like glue.

The Resisty members huddled around and stared in awe.

"Hey, WOW!" Shloonktapooxis exclaimed. "They're gettin' along! It's nice." his tongue poked out.

"This is great news for the 'Young and the Slorgaks'!" Spleenk cheered, and the rest of the Resisty nodded in agreement.

Gaz growled. "Don't you idiots have anything better to do than watch our personal lives? GO FIGHT THE IRKEN EMPIRE!!"

Zim smiled at how Gaz was finally acting like herself again.

(Page Break)

"Well, what do you think?" Tak asked, looking at Dib who had been staring at the room. "I know it's not much, but at least it's a roof over our heads until my ship is properly repaired.

Dib shook his head. "No, it's not that I don't like it. I'm just so amazed to have air conditioning again," he explained with a smile and looked again at the alien motel room.

"Good. Now get situated, and I'm going to wash up." Then, to MIMI she said, "Go get my cleansing chalk."

The robot saluted and pranced of gaily. Tak shook her head in disgust and disappeared into a smaller room. Dib decided that it must be the equivalent of the bathroom. The room he was in had several items of furniture, most of which Dib couldn't identify. He figured out which one was the bed, but a problem arose when he realized that there was only one.

'_Well, we could share,_' Dib thought optimistically, but then he shook his head. '_But only if she wants to. If not, it looks like sofa city for me… If I can find the sofa…_'

He set his bag down on the floor and a plume of dust rose from it. He brushed some more of the sand off before unzipping it and pulling out the rest of his belongings, which consisted solely of a change of clothes. While he looked for a place to hang them, MIMI rushed back in and entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Dib shrugged and went back to work.

MIMI came out moments later and was able to point out the closet, as well as a second bathroom for the human to use. As he entered the bathroom, Dib asked, "Two bathrooms and one bed; is that normal?"

MIMI shrugged and slammed the door behind him. After a full five minutes of searching the alien appliances, Dib was confident that he had located the shower. He twisted the handle and a light blue liquid began to spray out of the top of the shower stall. Unaware of how he would react to the strange alien liquid, he gingerly poked his hand through the shower door, so a drop landed on his finger.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAA!!"

"What's going on?!" Tak shrieked in the adjacent bathroom.

"Oh, MAN!" Dib yelled, sharply withdrawing his hand. "That's _COLD_!"

Tak was silent for a long time. "Press the red button until the temperature adjusts to you liking," she finally informed.

"Oh?" Dib pressed the button and found that the liquid's temperature changed instantly. It was now the equivalent of a hot shower. Dib wasted no time stripping down, glad to be rid of the clothes he had been stuck in for the past three months. He knew that he must smell. His once black shirt was now a dull grey from the sun and sand. His face was almost brown from the sand and grime it was thickly coated with. He was surprised at how sharp the contrast was between his arms and stomach was. He had rarely taken off his shirt while in the desert, for fear of getting sunburn, so the skin underneath was still fish belly white. He quickly stepped into the shower. "Uh, Tak?"

"Yes, Dib?"

"Where do they hide the soap?"

There was a pause, and then the unmistakable sound of Tak laughing. "What?"

"It's in the water Dib."

"Huh?" Dib looked down and rubbed his arms, which was soaked from the mist. All of the dust and grime came off easily. "Oh, wow. Thanks."

Tak giggled and said no more.

(Page Break)

Gaz looked up at the sound of one of the stools being pulled out. She watched as Zim sat at her side. "I like how you handled that," he smirked and watched as the Resisty members toiled at their different stations.

She shrugged. "I didn't do anything special. I just told 'em to do their jobs, and they shouldn't need me to tell them either."

Zim nodded. "Pitiful creatures," he murmured.

Gaz nodded and looked down into her lap. '_Zim's regaining some confidence with me,_' she noted. She felt his gaze studying her, trying to pry her mind and read her thoughts. She focused intently on her hands and tried to keep her expression blank. After a minute, he looked away.

"You would make a fine leader of this vessel," he said while staring out of one of the windows.

Gaz looked at him, mildly surprised by what she considered to be a compliment, but kept the emotion hidden. "Hm?"

"I was just saying that you would make a good leader," Zim said, a bit nervous by her blank stare. "That's all."

She warmed up to him slightly. "Am I more qualified than Lard Nar?" she inquired, raising a brow.

"Well, second to me I suppose-"

"Second to _you_? What makes _you_ so qualified?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Humph, I may not look it now, but I once commanded the crew of a battle mech. on my home planet," Zim boasted. "So I'm used to commanding several members of a militia at a time."

"And am I more qualified to lead the Resisty that you?" she asked, a bit of an edge in her voice.

"Yes…" he replied smartly. "But _only_ because the Resisty would never listen to me due to my race."

Gaz mumbled "Racist" under her breath.

"What was that?"

"I asked if you were saying that I only qualify by default?"

"Yes and no. Yes, because I would make a good leader myself, and that will never be as long as this organization's goals remain what they are. And no, because I think you have some natural leadership capabilities…. Why, your sire did a good job commanding the humans."

"Yeah," Gaz smiled, remembering her Dad. "He was great." Her eyes began to well with tears and she did nothing to stop it. '_And now Dad's gone. He's gone along with everyone else on Earth; they all died so suddenly. So anticlimactically. It doesn't even seem real. But it is. And everyone I knew or cared about is gone. Everyone at Skool (which isn't that great of a loss) and Dad._

'_And Dad died thinking I was mad at him._'

Gaz chocked back a sob at the resolution. Remembering the conversation at the table, she wished that she could take it all back, and instead tell her father that she really did love him, despite everything. All she wanted now was to tell him that she loved him, and Dib too. She didn't really harbor any true misgivings for her older brother. He couldn't help what their father did. He couldn't help that their Dad favored him occasionally. In fact, she realized that Dib had been like her father all along, and now she would never get the chance to tell him how much she appreciated that. Or tell her father that she loved him. Her insides twisted with hate and revulsion.

"Gaz… it's okay… calm down," Zim hushed, placing an arm around her shoulders.

'_YOU!_' her mind accused. '_It's _**your**_ fault I can't tell them!_' She pushed his arm away. "Shut up, Zim! Quit acting like you know what I'm going through!"

Zim retracted and cocked an antenna in confusion. "Gaz, I was only trying to-"

"Help? No thanks. You've done more than enough. Thanks to you, I'll never have to deal with my home life again. Dib'll never tell me to stop skipping Skool again. Dad'll never ignore me when I need some parental advice again. Dib'll never again lecture me on my grades. Dad'll never tell me to stop beating up Dib for annoying me again." She began to sob. "Dib'll never lecture me about aliens again. Dad'll never take us to Bloaty's for Family Fun Night again. Dib'll never stand in line for twenty six hours just so he can get me the newest addition of Vampire Piggies for my birthday again. Dad'll never take me aside and have a serious talk with me about growing up again." Her sobbing turned into hysterics that she was barely able to talk through. "And I'll never get to tell them how much they mean to me, and that I love them, because you took all that away from me!"

"Gaz…. I'm sorry, but-"

"Sorry?" Gaz mocked, now more angry than sad. "Sorry's _still_ not good enough! It'll never be good enough! You can't even imagine what I'm going through right now! It's _horrible_; and it's _all_ _your_ _fault_!" she shrieked.

"Insolent human!" Zim yelled in reply. "Haven't I told you already that I know what it's like?!"

Gaz cursed him. "Boohoo, you got kicked off your planet for screwing up all the time. At least you still _have_ a planet!"

"I'd rather have no planet!" Zim growled and slashed his hand through the air between them, as if that was enough to destroy his home planet. "I'd rather there be no Irkens! I'd rather have everyone dead than have them alive and ridiculing me. Irk may still exist, but I have no home!"

"Oh, poor pitiful you!" Gaz mocked, glaring at him.

Zim glared. "And how easily you forget that Earth was my home too!"

"Puh, for eight years!"

"Oh, so the time spent on a planet dictates how much meaning it has to you?"

"Yes, and going by that Earth meant twice as much to me as it ever would have to you!"

"Fine, but Earth meant more to me than all the human-worm babies under the age of eight!"

"No, it meant more to them than to you!"

"Hypocrite!" Zim screeched, pointing an accusing finger at Gaz.

"No," she replied, swiping his hand away. "It meant more to all the humans because Earth was their _home_! They'd never known another planet; unlike you!"

Zim growled with frustration. "No! Earth meant just as much to me because it was my second chance. It was my new life."

"Well, if that's true, then why'd ya _blow it up_?!"

"BECAUSE!" Zim shrieked and then hesitated. For a minute, he looked lost. "Because I didn't realize it was my second chance. What the Tallest told me… when they said I had a mission. I thought that was my second chance. I thought getting the information from your sire would bring me home. I know your pain, Gaz. I know it _well_. I miss my home _every day_. I didn't _realize_ Earth was my second chance until it was gone. Now, I grieve for two lost planets."

"Well, what can I say, Zim. You screwed up again."

Zim growled. "You don't know what it's like. The pain of losing two homes; I can't escape it. I feel like I'm dying because of it."

"I wish you would die," Gaz snapped.

Zim snarled. "Why is it so hard for you to admit that we're going through the same thing?!"

"Why is it so hard for you to realize we're _**not**_?!"

"You're so _**stubborn**_," Zim grumbled, spitting out the last word like it was a horrible curse. He stood to leave.

As he walked for the hall to the living quarters, Gaz said, "And you're an idiot! Getting kicked off of one planet; blowing up another. You're a hazard, Zim! You're people were right to banish you!" She knew that her last comment was low, but it seemed to strike home. The alien froze in place, and his overall demeanor seemed to wilt right before her eyes.

She thought she heard him mumble halfheartedly that he was going to his room.

"Yeah, go scratch yourself s'more, Zim!" she yelled after him, even though it was obvious that she was only taking cheap shots at him. "Make sure you remove all of the skin this time!"

The alien disappeared from sight, and Gaz settled back into her chair. Her pride was inflated from all the damage she knew she caused him, but something was also nagging her. Like how miserable Zim had looked, and all the cheap shots she had taken. It's true that he had been through a lot, but that wasn't her fault.

'_Well,_' she admitted to herself. '_I'm certainly not making it any easier for him._' To that, she retorted, '_And why should I? He's only made me go through Hell and back. It's actually nice to know that he's suffering too._'

Even as she thought it, she knew it was only half true. Yes, Zim was going through his own Hell with her, but she knew that she would be able to bounce back.

Eventually.

Right now, she knew she was still in shock from everything, and that was normal. No body was perfectly okay after losing all but the clothes on her back, literally. The grieving process took time, and time was in great abundance on the Resisty ship. So she knew she'd be okay. But Zim, on the other hand, was very hard to read.

'_Why if he doesn't bounce back?_' she asked herself. '_Why if he dies, and I'm all __**alone**_' Gaz shook from the power of the word. Up until now, she had considered herself to be alone already, but now she knew that it wasn't true. Zim had been with her every step of the way. In some ways that was bad, but all things considered he was still something familiar in this new and alien world she had been thrust into. He was something for her to hold on to; a small piece of her old life. Someone who knew Earth that she could talk to. She hadn't truly lost everything, because she hadn't lost him.

'_But I could lose him_,' she realized. '_I could lose him now because of everything I've said. Was I really that mad at him?_'

A closer inspection of her motives revealed that she wasn't. Zim was responsible for the destruction of Earth, but she was responsible for never revealing her true feelings to her family before. And that's why she was really mad.

There would be other planets, there were probably foods out there that were similar if not better than pizza, she felt that aliens always had better videogames than humans anyways, she never really even liked humans in the first place, but she would never have Dib or her Dad again. Even though Zim was responsible for her father's death, Gaz felt responsible for Dib's death as well as how horrible her father must have felt when he died.

'_He must've thought that I didn't love him,_' she thought and a lone tear rolled down her cheek. She had won her fight with Zim, but in retrospect to everything, she had lost.

"Wow," Spleenk said, having watched the whole conversation from the safety of the upper deck. "Today was a really good episode."

"Yeah, Friday's episode is always good," replied Shloonktapooxis. "That way you watch Monday's episode so you find out what happens next."

(End Chapter) Go read the ATTENTION under the author's notes above.

**Author's Notes**: Hey, guys. Sorry that this chapter wasn't longer – I fully intended for it to be this time. But if I keep going at this rate, it'll end up being some twenty pages long, so I'll save it for the next chapter XP. Deal with it. Now, for my thankyous…


	10. Understanding

Unlikely Romance

**Author's Notes**: Yayz, I am now home from my 10 day adventure. Woo. But the important thing is that I was able to sleep in my own bed. :)! As for this chapter, I hope that it's long enough, but the plot may not advance very far. I hope that you enjoy.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the lyrics to Understanding. They are written and preformed by Evanescence (The best band EVER!! in my opinion) Sadly, there are no longer any copies of this CD in existence, so just go Google video it if you really want to hear it. Type in Understanding, and it'll be the second thing on the list. Brownie points to whoever does. 3

"Some girls glow; I sweat like a big, dirty man."

-My Teacher

Chapter 10: Understanding

The steam in the bathroom continued to rise and fog Dib's vision even after the shower was off; making finding his glasses a nearly impossible task. He grabbed a towel instead. He was disappointed to find that he could see his farmer's tan even without his glasses, but for now he was just happy to be clean and more importantly, sand-free.

"Hey, Tak! Are you out of the shower?" he called.

Her response came from the bedroom. "Yeah, I'm out. Are you coming?"

"Yeah, just a second! I need to find my glasses." Dib fumbled around in the steam for a few more seconds before giving up. They were probably on the floor anyways. Instead, Dib decided to look for his clothes.

Tak waited for Dib in the bedroom. "MIMI," she whispered to her robot. "Go see what's taking him so long."

MIMI saluted and rushed over to the bathroom. The android managed to fling open the door just in time for Dib to come stumbling out, wearing nothing but a towel, through a cloud of steam. Dib squinted at his new surroundings, trying to figure out where he was, MIMI rushed into the bathroom, and Tak remained silent. Finally, Dib managed to focus on the bed or more the green form on it that he was sure belonged to Tak.

MIMI emerged from the bathroom with Dib's glasses, which she handed to the nearsighted human. Dib wiped off the lenses with his towel, put them on, and turned to face Tak. He realized immediately that she was naked.

He instantly felt flushed and had no doubt that he was noticeably blushing. Tak smiled.

"Well," she asked softly, "what are you waiting for? Won't you join me?"

Dib was so flustered ('_Oh, jeez! I'm dreaming. I've gotta be dreaming. There is no way that this is happening for real. I'm just dreaming like all the other times. Any minute now I'll wake up. My hormones are just getting the better of me_') that he failed to realize that he had dropped his towel.

"Dib?"

The human came to slightly when she called his name. "Will we work?"

Tak frowned. "Work?" she inquired.

"I mean… I'm human and you're… not, so…" he scratched his back nervously and looked at the floor.

"It's obviously worked between a human and an Irken before. That's the whole reason you're here, isn't it?"

Dib wanted to be angry at the mention of Zim, but quickly found it hard. No part of him wanted to be mad, and every part of him wanted her. After all, she did have a point, it had 'worked' before and it would 'work' now.

Without further hesitation, he jumped into bed with her.

(Page Break)

Gaz lay awake in her bed, completely oblivious to the Earth-shattering experience her brother was undergoing. At the moment, she was feeling quite the opposite. She was wrapped in a feeling of foreboding and guilt.

She had not wanted to hurt Zim so deeply, and that is why she felt guilty. For the past three months, she had felt alone. She was dealing with both the loss of her planet and her pregnancy without help or guidance. She was angry at Zim for having brought on both situations, but now she realized that he had been going through his own personal Hell all along; one that was also deeply intertwined with her own. She now knew how alone he had felt and how much it had hurt him. All the emo-freaks at Skool could learn the meaning of pain and loneliness from Zim. Which is why she had a feeling of foreboding.

'_What have I done? Zim's the reason I'm in this mess, but he's also the only one who can help me through it. But he's cutting – scratching – himself, and I'm making it worse. I took his deepest, darkest secret and shouted it in front of his enemies while rubbing his nose in it. What if he's dead now? What if he decided "screw it, I give up" and killed himself because of me?_'

She wasn't emotionally prepared to face the answer that her mind offered. She feared the loneliness that awaited her. It was too much for one person to endure alone. Too uncertain.

She threw off her covers and sat up. '_I hope that he's still breathing._'

(Page Break)

Zim lay on his side, staring blankly at the wall, trying to ignore Gaz's words. Afterall, words were only what they were. Bad words, maybe; true as well, but he'd had to deal with those plenty of times in his life. Especially eight years ago. They day he first scratched himself. To this day, he can't recall the Tallests' words, but he knew that they had been horrible.

And true.

Too true.

And the shame had been too much to bear. The shame that he had failed, and had known so all along but refused to believe.

"_You hold the answers deep within your own mind._

_Consciously, you've forgotten it._

_That's the way the human mind works._

_Whenever something is too unpleasant, too shameful for us_

_to entertain, we reject it._

_We erase it from our memories._

_But the imprint is always there."_

_(Can't wash it all away)_

_(Can't wish it all away)_

_(Can't hope it all away)_

_(Can't cry it all away)_

The automatic door to Zim's room opened soundlessly, but he looked up just the same. He met Gaz's gaze, which mirrored the misery he felt inside. "Gaz? Why so late?" he asked softly.

Gaz shrugged as she glided into the room. "Just… wanted to see how you were…" she said, and sat down at the edge of his bed.

"I'm fine," he replied, but she already knew that he was lying. His eyes betrayed him.

_The pain that burdens you_

_The fear that binds me_

_Releases life in me_

"Zim… today I-"

"No… Don't worry about it," he said and averted her gaze.

"But it was wrong of me," she insisted softly.

_In our mutual_

_Shame we hide our eyes_

_To blind them from the truth_

_That finds a way from who we are_

"Then, we've both done things that we regret," Zim stated.

Gaz reached out and took one of his arms. Zim retracted it as a reflex.

"No," she said, grabbing the arm once more. "I want to know if you've hurt yourself." She rolled up his sleeve and looked at the bandages. They were no different from the night before. She gave a sigh of relief.

_Please don't be afraid_

_When the darkness fades away_

_The dawn will break the silence_

_Screaming in our hearts_

"Do you trust me now?" Zim asked.

"Yes… in some ways. But I don't know how often you hurt yourself," she explained, letting go of his hand.

"I'm surprised you care," he replied, with a self-mocking smirk.

"Why wouldn't I? You're the father of my child. You're important to me."

_My love for you still grows_

_And this I do for you_

_Before I try to fight the truth my final time_

"Do you really think that? Or are you just trying to make me feel better, so I won't scratch myself."

"Of course I mean-"

"Or are you just saying that because you're scared, and you want me to be there?"

Gaz looked away, but Zim's gaze bore into her, forcing her to answer. "Don't you want to be there? On your own?"

Zim nodded.

"_We're supposed to try and be real._

_And I feel alone, and we're not together. And that is real."_

Gaz leaned forward and softly kissed him on the lips.

_Can't wash it all away_

_Can't wish it all away_

_Can't cry it all away_

_Can't scratch it all away_

Gaz leaned in closer placing her head on Zim's bare chest and pulled the sheet up higher to hide her own. It was the first time they had been intimate with each other since their child was conceived and she didn't regret it. She wanted to be with him now. He was the one who got them into this mess and she felt that he would be the one to get them out.

_Lying beside you_

_Listening to you breathe_

_The life that flows inside of you_

_Burns inside of me_

Zim stroked Gaz's hair as she lay on his chest. He was also mindful of her swollen abdomen pressed up against his own. He knew his child resided within her, but he was afraid to ask her about it, for fear that she would once again refer to it as hers and hers alone. She looked up at him and he stroked her cheek.

_Hold and speak to me_

_Of love without a sound_

_Tell me you will live through this_

_And I will die for you_

"I love you," he told her for the umpteenth time and fully meaning it for the first.

Gaz looked back down and smiled softly to herself. She took the hand that had been stroking her and pulled it under the sheets, placing it on her middle. She watched Zim's confused look change to shock as he felt his child kick his hand.

"You can't hardly feel it right now," she told him. "It's still so small, but you can't feel human babies kick until the fifth month, so…"

"You don't think the child is human?" Zim asked and Gaz shook her head. Zim felt a small sense of pride, but at the same time he had a hard dose of reality smack him upside the head. The reality that there really was a child involved.

"The kicks will get stronger as the baby gets bigger," she said with a small smile and then look up and stared the Irken in the eyes. "Promise me you'll be there," she said mildly, but Zim saw her pleading eyes.

_Cast me not away_

_Say you'll be with me_

_For I know I cannot_

_Bear it all alone_

"Of course I will," he promised, and kissed her to make the pleading look go away.

"_You're not alone, honey._

_Never… Never."_

_Can't fight it all away_

_Can't hope it all away_

_Can't scream it all away_

_It just won't fade away, no_

(Page Break)

Dib stared up at the alien ceiling, his mind whirling with memories and emotions. It seemed that everything was happening to him at once, but he couldn't complain. At least he was no longer afraid of dying a virgin. He felt Tak roll over to face him and he turned to face her. Her eyes were so glossy that he could see his reflection in them. Or at least he thought he could.

He wished he knew where his glasses were.

"Satisfied?"

Dib considered the question. "Yeah."

"Good."

He got the feeling that Tak was smiling.

Being with Tak was not like being with any human girl, or at least Dib didn't think so. He had no prior experience with human girls, but he got the impression that sex was supposed to be painful for them. It seemed quite the opposite with Tak.

His mind wandered back to Gaz, a subject that always lingered in the back of his mind; even now, in his moment of triumph he was being nagged by questions he barely wanted to consider. '_Was it like this for Gaz? Did Zim hurt her?_'

Dib scowled at the question. The very thought of Zim getting pleasure from his sister's pain only made him want to kill the alien more.

_Can't wash it all away_

_Can't wish it all away_

_Can't cry it all away_

_Can't scratch it all away_

"Dib," Tak called softly, alarmed by the human's change in mood. One second, blissfully happy, scowling the next.

Dib looked at her. "Sorry. Did I have the look again?"

Tak nodded. "It's your sister, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

"You get that look whenever you think about her… Well, her or Zim…"

"_Zim_," Dib seethed as if the word were a swear.

"Don't think about that right now," Tak told the human gently and reached out to stroke his hair, but before her hand reached his head, the scowl had returned.

"I can't. It's _always_ in the back of my mind."

_(Can't fight it all away)_

_(Can't hope it all away)_

_Can't scream it all away_

_Ooh, it all away_

_Ooh, it all away_

(Page Break)

Zim stared out of the hull of the Resisty's ship, into the vastness of space, hoping that some of its tranquility would soothe the torrent in his mind. Memories of the night before mixed and merged with the events of the past eight years, generating a flood of confusing emotions. At the moment, he thought he knew what he wanted but when he put it into perspective, he became unsure.

"_But the imprint is always there. Nothing is ever really forgotten."_

"Zim."

His antennas perked up, and he turned to face Gaz, standing behind him. She approached him, purple robe billowing around her feet. He loved the way it complimented her hair.

"How are you?" she asked, joining him.

"Okay."

"You look upset."

"I have a lot going on in my mind right now," he confided.

"You're not going to scratch, are you?"

Zim shook his head.

"Good," she said, and then mumbled, "I don't want anything to happen to you."

"And what would you do if something _did_ happen to me?" Zim inquired out of curiosity.

"What? If you _died_?"

"Yes, what would you do?"

"Zim!" She turned away from him. "Don't talk like that. Nothing's going to happen to you."

"I'm just saying 'what if'."

"I hate 'what if's."

"But it's still possible," he persisted.

"Zim… You can't die."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Because!"

"_Because I'll die if you do."_

"Because why?"

"_Because I'll die if you do."_

"Because…"

"_Because I'll die if you do."_

Zim watched Gaz's reflection in the glass. She looked at the floor with the rest of the statement caught in her throat. He waited for the rest to come out, but then he saw the tears in her eyes.

"_Because I'll die if you do."_

'She really cares about me,' he thought as he took the girl in his arms. To his relief, she didn't fight him.

"_Because I'll die if you do."_

"It's okay," he told her, and kissed her on the cheek. "I love you too."

(End chapter)

**Author's Notes**: Don't you just love how the lyrics fit what was going on. They really help you all read between the lines. Yeah, brownie points if you look up the song. Other than that, not much to say. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO GAVE ME FANART, I'LL HAVE YOUR PREVIEW FOR THE NEXT UPDATE!!!!


	11. What Lies Ahead

Unlikely Romance

**Author's Notes**: UGH! I'm SOOOO sorry. I was here 2 weeks ago, but the site was updating, and it wouldn't let me update my chapter. AHHHHHHHHHHHH! Oh well. sorry. Well, time now to write another chapter. I'm a little disappointed with my inability to fully express the last chapter. It was supposed to be so much better than it was, but I couldn't escape all the distractions of my room! So, I'm very sorry, loyal readers. I hope that this chapter will be better. Only one or two more to go.

"I'm glad you learned how to lie,"

-My teacher

Chapter 11: What Lies Ahead

This week on "The Young and the Slorgaks":

_We find the stars of our show happily exchanging signs of affection in the cafeteria. Strangely, no one else seems to be eating. Perhaps the two slorgaks sucking each other's faces off has caused them to lose their appetite._

_The Irken scum whispers softly to Gaz – of earth. She whispers back and he chuckles softly. The scene is absolutely nauseating, but what does it mean? Have they really made up? What could they possibly be saying?! Maybe Lard Nar will find out…_

(Page Break)

"You know that idiot, Spleenk, is talking about us?" Zim asked Gaz softly after ending the make-out session.

"Mmm, yeah. But I'll doom him later," she replied and Zim chuckled to himself.

There was a brash cough as someone standing behind them cleared their throat. Zim and Gaz turned around to find Lard Nar standing on a table behind them.

"What?" Gaz growled.

"Oh, nothing. I just happened to notice that the two of you have been getting along much better the past few days," the tiny Vortion explained, gesturing to Gaz who was sitting on Zim's lap.

"So?"

"Well, it distracts the other Resisty members from their tasks when the two of you display your affections for each other so… _publically_."

"And your point?" Zim asked.

Lard Nar faltered and looked at the floor. "Well, I donno. You two could stop displaying affection and maybe… I donno… stuff," he asked, scratching the back of his head. He looked back at Zim and Gaz who were both staring at him with matching indifferent expressions.

"Hmpf," Zim said at last. "Be gone with you, annoying Vortion. Zim has far more important matters to attend to at the moment."

"Hey!"

Zim's head snapped around to face Gaz.

"What have I told you about talking in third person?" the girl growled dangerously.

Zim smiled coyly. "I don't know what you're-"

Gaz growled louder.

"Okay! I'm sorry. I won't do it any more!" Zim snapped his head around to face Lard Nar. "Cease your laughter at Zim this _instant_!"

Lard Nar looked confused. "I wasn't laughing at you…"

"_Third person_," Gaz warned.

"You're lying!" Zim accused Lard Nar who flinched at the Irken's pointed finger.

"No really, I wasn't laughing."

"How dare you mock me?! Me? Zim!?!"

Gaz snarled loud enough for it to echo off of the high ceiling in the food court. Both Zim and Lard Nar froze. Gaz snatched Zim's head and snapped it around to face her eye to eye. His eyes were wide with panic. She leaned forward with lightning speed and kissed him on the lips. His posture slacked instantly and he leaned into the kiss. Lard Nar looked revolted at seeing to alien species Frenching up close. But luckily, it only lasted three seconds.

Gaz gently pulled away and looked into Zim's lidded eyes. He smiled at her. "Next time you talk in third person, it won't be this pleasant," she warned sweetly.

"Oh?"

She shook her head and said, "nope," in the same sweet tone.

"And what would happen?" Zim inquired sleepily.

"This would be an only child," she said, gesturing to her belly.

"And why would that be?"

"Cause I'd tear your balls off," she finished coldly.

Zim's eyes popped open and he swallowed thickly. Gaz smiled.

"So from now on, you're only going to speak in first person?" she asked, sweetly. Zim nodded, and she pecked him lightly on the lips. "Good, I have trained you well." She looked up at Lard Nar. "You're still here? Didn't I tell you a few days ago to go fight the Irken Empire?"

"Well, yes you did, and that's what I'm trying to do right now."

Gaz swiveled the chair around so she was facing the little Vortion. He pulled up a chair of his own and continued, "You see, we really don't have any leads on the Irken Empire right now."

"You're telling me that we've just been aimlessly floating through space for the past three months?!" Gaz snarled.

"Well, when you put it that way… Yeah, I guess you're right. BUT WAIT!" Lard Nar pleaded as Gaz wound up to punch him. "We have a reason!" Gaz relaxed. "We've been waiting for the two of you to resolve your differences and _finally_ tell us why you're here."

Gaz looked confused. "What's to tell? Zim's people blew up my planet, I was next, but Zim saved me, I got sick, Zim tried to take care of me, and we both ended up here. I thought I told you that already. And what business is it of yours anyways!?"

"Well, yes you did tell me that already, but I've got the feeling that there's more to the story than the two of you are letting on."

"Is this about us having sex," Gaz asked, gesturing to Zim, "Cause if it is, I'll-"

"No no no…" Lard Nar said, waving his tiny hands. "At least, I don't think so."

Gaz raised a brow while the Resisty leader thought of how to proceed with the conversation.

"You're from Earth," he said at length, motioning to Gaz.

"No. Duh."

"And he was an Irken scent to conquer Earth."

"Yeah," Gaz responded looking at Zim and then back to Lard Nar. "So?"

"But to what purpose? No offense, human female, but I've never even heard of your planet, nor have I heard of your race attending any Galactic Conventions. And as far as I know, you're planet has scarcely any natural resources that the Irkens would find useful. So why did they send an Invader?"

"I can answer that," Zim stated, sounding depressed.

"My Empire was just trying to get rid of me. They sent me into space, hoping I would die. I landed on Earth by accident."

"Oh…" Lard Nar said disappointed. His hypothesis for why Zim was on Earth was far more climactic than the truth. "But that's so strange. I've never heard of Irkens abandoning their own like that. Irkens are afraid of having their own captured because of the Great Download. Their people's history is downloaded into every Irken at birth. That knowledge is kept in their PAKs. If an Irken is captured, the alien species can harvest that information and use it against the Irkens."

"Well, my people did abandon me, and if you want my PAK's data, go ahead and download it. I don't want to be associated with the Empire any longer, and if the information helps you destroy the Empire, then, all the better for me."

Lard Nar looked thrilled. "Well, come with me to the control room and let's see if we can't download some of the information."

(Page Break)

Dib sat alone in the alien motel room. He watched the strange, red sunlight pour from between the pulled blinds and thought about the past few days. What made him fell the worst was how he had treated Tak the night he lost his virginity. He figured that he must have hurt her feelings, given the huge fight they had the next day.

"You're _obsessed_ Dib!" she had shouted at him.

"Obsessed? With what?!" he had shouted back.

"Your sister. Zim. Everything!" she shrieked, throwing her arms up in the air.

"So what if I am, Tak? It's a terrible loss that I don't know how to deal with, and as far as Zim goes, I can't even talk about him without being filled with an inconceivable rage!"

"So what? Is that what you asked? I'll tell you what! You've become so swallowed up in your own issues from the past that you're ignoring the present!"

"Ignoring the present, or ignoring you?"

The comment had been low, and he knew that now. Tak had only surrendered her virginity to him, so of course she wanted his attention, but he also knew that she needed his help with tracking down Zim. That was their goal. She had left him after that, he figured to monitor the continuing repairs on her ship, and she did not return until late that night. The two continued to share a bed, but it had become awkward.

And the awkwardness had continued for the past three days. Dib figured that it continued because neither one knew how to treat the other. Today, however, he had decided to take the initiative and apologize.

The doorknob rattled. '_She's back soon_,' Dib thought, rising to his feet. The door slid open, and Tak stepped in. "Hey," he said to her with a wave. She acknowledged him with a nod. "So… how're the repairs?"

"Going fine," she replied curtly, and began packing her things.

"When do you think we'll be leaving?" he asked, and began doing the same with his own belongings.

"If everything goes smoothly, we should be tracking down our target by this time tomorrow."

Dib nodded. "Uh, Tak."

She grunted.

"I'm sorry… about how I've been treating you." He heard her cease her packing to listen. "I have been obsessing over Zim too much. He's become such a big part of my life that I didn't treat you appropriately. And… I'm sorry about that. I promise to give you the attention you deserve from now on."

Tak was silent.

"Um… can you please say something?" Dib asked. "I don't mean to be rude, but I don't care if you yell and scream at me for how much of a jerk I am. But just don't be quiet; the suspense is unbearable."

At last, Tak said, "No one's ever apologized to me before… I won't yell at you, Dib," and turned to face the boy. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me.

Dib blushed. "Really, it's not that big of a deal." Tak began to advance on him. "Anyone can apologize for doing something stupid."

"People… My own people have done terrible things to me. _Terrible_ things, Dib," Tak explained while she advanced. She stopped when she was face to face with the boy. "Things that have _ruined_ my life; things that this past week doesn't even come _close_ to comparing with…. But you're the first person who has ever apologized to me."

Dib opened his mouth, but before he got a chance to reply, Tak dove for it hungrily and began kissing all over him. She lifted the human onto the bed and began stripping him of his clothes to give him his reward.

(Page Break)

Gaz, Lard Nar and several other Resisty members stood clustered around Zim in the main control room, watching as the computer downloaded the information from Zim's PAK. Lard Nar checked the mini-screen set up by his chair. While he read the information, Gaz placed her hand on Zim's thigh, trying to give him comfort. She was proud of him for betraying his people in such a horrible way.

Lard Nar looked up from the screen. "USELESS!" he exclaimed.

"What?!" Zim and Gaz yelled in unison and the rest of the Resisty members shared a collective gasp.

"Wahoo!" shouted Shloonktapooxis. "Okay, now what?"

"Is that bad?" asked Spleenk from the back row.

"We can't use this data," explained the Resisty's leader. "It's all corrupt! The computer can't make any sense of it!"

"Impossible!" Zim shouted back. "There is nothing wrong with my PAK. It must be a glitch with your silly little computer."

"Nope, I've already had the computer run a diagnostic and everything's fine. Your PAK is the problem."

"LIES!" Zim shouted back. "Only defective Irkens have corrupt data."

The room went silent.

"What?" Zim asked nervously, looking around.

"Yup," said Spleenk. "I thought he looked familiar." Other Resisty members affirmed this.

"What?!" demanded Zim once more.

"We've seen you on TV!" Shloonktapooxis shouted.

"When?"

"Why yes," Lard Nar said, mostly to himself. "I didn't notice the resemblance before, because of your height." Zim straightened up and looked proud. "But I saw you on TV the day you were on trial on the planet Judgementia." Zim's posture wilted.

"Yeah, yeah," Shloonktapooxis joined in. "Not only was he deemed 'defective' by Irken standards, but he's also considered the most defective Irken to have ever lived! Alright."

"Yeah, and his data was so bad, that when the control brains tried to drain it, it melted their hard drives!" Spleenk shouted.

Zim hung his head in shame. Gaz saw this and turned to the Resisty. "Freakin' drop it already!" The room went silent. "Zim's data is corrupt; whoopdeedoo. We're not coming any closer to destroying the Empire by sitting around here laughing at him for it! Zim, what was your mission on Earth; the second one that you told me about?"

"Well, the Tallest contacted me earlier this year and told me that I was to steal a transmission that the humans had intercepted."

"And what did that message entail?" asked Lard Nar, leaning forward.

"A poem by the Meekrob. Something about ultimate power at the cost of a sacrifice," Zim shrugged. "That kind of thing."

The Resisty members gasped.

"No way," shouted Shloonktapooxis.

"I thought that was just a story," said Spleenk dreamily.

"Could it be?" asked Lard Nar leaning back in his chair.

"Am I missing something?" Gaz asked.

"There is a myth," began Lard Nar. "That every million years, the planets in Meekrob's system come into alignment, and give the Meekrob a huge power boost. The Meekrob, being a stuck-up race of sissys, don't use the power on themselves, no. They choose to use it on others. But not just anyone, mind you. They only want people who are worthy of the power."

Gaz raised a brow. "And how do they determine who's worthy."

"Well, the myth goes that they contact every race in the Universe and initiate a race. Whoever's first to get there and meet the Meekrob's standards will have the power used on them."

"And what does this power do?" Gaz asked, thinking the story sounded absolutely ridiculous.

Lard Nar shrugged. "Well, the myth says anything. Some people think that it is how the Shnaxlorks came back from extinction three million years ago, how planet Neosis magically reappeared two days after being destroyed two million years ago, and how the Irkens came to power one million years ago."

"This is why," Zim said to himself. Gaz gave him a questioning look. "This is why the Tallest wanted that transmission so badly. If what you say is true, than any one of our enemies could obtain the Meekrob's power and destroy the Empire! This is why the Tallest have been pouring so much of their resources into technology that scrambles transmissions!"

"Huh?" asked Gaz.

"Oh, they mentioned the scrambling thing to me during one of my mission reports. Didn't I tell you?" Gaz shook her head. "Hmm, must've slipped my mind. Well, it didn't seem that important at the time, and they mentioned it before we started dating."

"So," began Lard Nar. "The Tallest have been scrambling signals all over the Universe, trying to prevent other species from learning of the Meekrob…" he mused. "Then, how did the humans receive the signal?"

"The Tallest never sent any scramblers in my direction. The humans were the only species that received the transmission."

"Accept the Irkens?"

"No," Zim replied. "They ended up accidentally scrambling the transmission intended for them. The humans were the only ones who got it."

Lard Nar nodded, scratching his chin. "I see. So that's why they sent you to retrieve the transmission?"

"Yes, and they wanted me to do it discretely so no other aliens would find out."

"And they destroyed Earth?"

"To prevent the humans who read the transmission from either seeking the power themselves or informing their allies of the message. Stupid Tallest; the humans _don't have any allies_!"

Gaz was astounded as all the questions that she had had since Earth's destruction were answered, one by one. Finally, everything was starting to make sense. It all had to do with the stupid transmission.

"Now what?" Spleenk asked Lard Nar.

The little alien looked lost in thought. "We need someone who knows about the Meekrob… Set a course for-"

"Sir, incoming transmission!" shouted an alien from the back.

Lard Nar looked annoyed. "Can't it wait?"

"They say it's urgent."

He growled. "Fine, patch 'em through."

The speakers in the room filled with static as did the screen at the front of the room. "Zim!" shouted a voice over the static, as a face started to come into focus on screen. "Are you there? I'm picking up your PAK's signal in that Vortian-looking ship!"

Zim's jaw dropped. "Skoodge?"

(End Chapter)

**Author's Notes**: Woot! I'm done. And at with 30 minutes left until I was due to post. Man, I'm good. This chapter was a little more in depth. I know that UR has been really slow and emo thus far, so I thought it was time to move the plot along. Only one more chapter until the beginning US, the third and final installment in the 'Unlikely' trilogy. I hope you enjoy. !!ATTENTION!! THE FANART CONTEST OFFER HAS NOT EXPIRED!!


	12. Epilogue

Unlikely Romance

**Author's Notes**: JOYOUS EVENT! Aqua's not dead! Rejoice! Sorry everyone for the late post. My Senior year at high school is very unforgiving. I HAVE NO LIFE!!!!!!!!!! But I promise to post more. To all my loyal readers: You guys rock my socks. Thank you for staying with me. I PROMISE PROMISE PROMISE!! to finish the Unlikely trilogy. Swear it (but it isn't polite to swear)

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the lyrics to "My Humps"

"Fate is a cruel mistress… That's why I've renamed her Scotland's Pride."

-My friend.

Epilogue: The New Course

Zim stared up at the screen, his eyes wide with disbelief, positive that he was dreaming. "I thought you were lost in space."

"Yeah…" Skoodge said with a casual nod.

"I ma listen to ma FA-vorite song," GIR chirped to no one in particular and clicked on the ship's radio.

"So where have you been?" Zim demanded.

"Well, first I-"

"WHO'S THAT?! HUH HUH?" Shloonktapooxis asked, floating up into Lard Nar's chair and bending down so his face was less than an inch from the tiny Vortian's.

"How would I know," Lard Nar snapped in reply. "ZIM! Who is that?!"

"He's a friend, and a rebel like me," Zim replied curtly. "Skoodge, I don't hear a story."

"Oh, right. So anyways, we were flying through space at warp speed, when suddenly-"

"**What you gon' do with all that junk?  
All that junk inside your trunk?"**

"I'ma get, get, get, get, you drunk, Get you love drunk off my hump!" GIR sang along, the sheer volume of the music making it impossible to hear Skoodge's story.

"GIR! TURN THAT NOISE OFF!" Zim demanded, pointing a very threatening finger at the screen.

GIR continued to dance.

Zim fumed.

"**My hump, my hump, my hump, my hump, my hump,  
My hump, my hump, my hump, my lovely little lumps (Check it out)"**

"Oh, yeah," Spleenk cheered. Several Resisty members backed away as the rhythm-deficient alien tried to dance. "Here's a song I can dance to!"

"Is that what you call it?" Lard Nar asked sarcastically.

"WHOO!" Shloonktapooxis cheered and began to "dance" as well. In Lard Nar's lap, more or less.

"Get off me, you idiot!"

"GIR! I _SAID_ TURN OFF THAT MUSIC!!" Zim repeated, snarling.

"**I drive these brothers crazy,  
I do it on the daily,  
They treat me really nicely,  
They buy me all these ices."**

"Wooo! This song's bangin'!" GIR cheered as he made pelvic thrusts at Mini-Moose, who squeaked in protest.

"I'll say," smiled Spleenk, before all four of his limbs flipped out from under him.

"GIR… I'm going to count to three, and if that noise isn't gone by then, I'm going to order you to self destruct," Zim stated as calmly as he could manage, considering how much rage he was holding back. "One…"

"**Dolce & Gabbana,  
Fendi and NaDonna  
Karan, they be sharin'  
All their money got me wearin' fly"**

"…_Two_…"

"**Brother I ain't askin,  
They say they love my ass 'n,  
Seven Jeans, True Religion's,  
I say no, but they keep givin'"**

"Thr-"

Skoodge finally managed to locate the knob that controlled volume and lower it so it was barely audible. Zim gave a sigh of relief now that his antennas were no longer being assaulted. GIR continued to dance, oblivious of how close he had come to his demise.

"Thank you, Skoodge. Now, can you tell me what-"

"Hey, Gaz, how are ya?" Skoodge asked.

"Huh?" Zim wheeled around and looked at Gaz. She had been standing right behind him, but he had managed to forget that she was there for a moment.

Gaz looked up on screen. "Fine… Why?"

"Oh, I just noticed that you gained weight…"

Gaz's jaw fell open. It took her a minute to gather her hatred into coherent thoughts, but once she was able to construct sentences, she let them rip. "I DON'T THINK YOU'RE THE ONE TO TALK, CHUNKY! I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I'M-"

"**She's got me spending.  
(Oh) Spendin' all your money on me and spending time on me."**

"GIR!!" Zim screeched and covered his antenna. Gaz grabbed him by his shirt collar and yanked him so that they were face to face. Zim had forgotten how inhumanly scary Gaz can be when she's royally pissed off.

"You never told Skoodge that we were having a child together?" she whispered fiercely through grit teeth.

"I never had time?" Zim offered lamely.

Gaz sighed and released him.

**What you gon' do with all that junk?  
All that junk inside that trunk?**

"GIR, you need to turn that down, okay. Zim's kinda hacked at you at the moment, and if he makes you self-destruct inside the ship, then Mini-Moose and I will be caught in the blast," Skoodge pleaded calmly.

But GIR was beyond reason.

"Get you love drunk off my hump," the little bot sung along.

Mini-Moose, being the only one out of the three with any sense at all, decided to turn off the radio.

"Thank you, Mini-Moose," Zim praised.

The little moose squeaked in reply.

"Now, Skoodge, tell me: WHERE IN THE NAME OF IRK HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

Gaz hissed in pain. "That's my _ear_, you idiot."

Zim flinched and shot her an apologetic smile. She rolled her eyes and looked away. '_Who knows? Maybe it _would_ kill him to say "I'm sorry"…_'

"Well, after GIR turned on the warp-drive we-"

"I KNOW!" Lard Nar interrupted. "Let's continue the conversation in here, so there will be no more interruptions."

"Like how you interrupted him just now?" Gaz asked sarcastically, but not so loud that anyone but Zim would hear her. He chuckled softly.

(Page Break)

"-And after we managed to escape the mutant, baby ghost-wombats we found GIR. So, after I used the orb of infinite power to start the ship, we used the warp drive and ended up in the same galaxy as you, Zim. Funny thing is, the orb doesn't work any more… I guess it didn't have infinite power after all," Skoodge concluded.

Gaz rolled her eyes, and elbowed Zim awake. He grumbled and straightened up.

"Anything interesting?" he asked softly.

"Not really, but don't be surprised if he's afraid to eat bacon."

Zim nodded.

Just then, GIR popped into Gaz's lap. "Awww," he cooed at her tummy. "HI, BABY!" the little robot shrieked and sent Gaz's unborn baby into a fit of kicks. A strange mixture of loathing, wonder, excitement, resentment, and undying affection attacked Gaz at once. She felt she might burst from the title wave of emotions; they were far beyond anything she's allowed herself to experience at one time. Something had to be done before she exploded: she took the resentment and loathing out on GIR.

Zim jumped in his seat when Gaz suddenly roared and slapped GIR off of her lap. Once he was on the floor, Gaz unleashed the longest slew of swear words Zim had ever heard to date. Zim never even knew some of these words existed, but he was infinitely grateful that they weren't being used on him. Irk knew he deserved it.

There was a tap on his shoulder. "Hey, Zim… Got a moment?"

Skoodge. Zim sighed, wanting to make some sort of sarcastic remark, but didn't. Without saying a word, he left with Skoodge.

The two now stood just barely in the hallway to the sleeping chambers. The door to the Command room was right behind them, and Gaz's swearing could still be clearly heard, though not as clearly understood. Zim noticed Skoodge gawking at him.

"What?" he asked, a bit annoyed.

"Jeez, Zim… You've grown. If we weren't forever banished from our Empire, I think that you would be Tallest."

The words cut deeper than any of Zim's claws. To be Tallest was something that he had wanted since birth. He had always felt that it was his destiny, but fate had been cruel. Now, because of the path his life took, he would never realize his greatest dream.

"What do you want, Skoodge?" he asked bitterly.

"Oh, right!" Skoodge said absently, not even registering Zim's anger. He dug around in his back pocket for a second before bringing out a disk.

One of Zim's antenna rose in interest. "What is it?" he asked. '_It looks so familiar…_'

"It's the disk with the Meekrob's message on it – fully decoded. It was my job to bring the disk to the Tallest, but I left with you before I did… Oops…"

"Not oops! Skoodge! Do you know what this means?!" Zim asked, excitedly snatching the disk from Skoodge's hands.

"We're in Slorbeese secretions up to our eyes if the Tallest catch us?" Skoodge offered.

"NO!" Zim then dropped his voice to a whisper. "We're the only ones in the Universe who have the Meekrob's transmission! Have you listened to it yet?"

"Only a bazillion times. I have it memorized…"

Zim waited.

Skoodge was silent.

"_Well_?"

"Oh, right…_Deep in the south is where you'll find, the power for all your dreams to be, that is of course if you provide, the all important key,__If power is yours desired, then a sacrifice you'll make, but the decision is yours to choose, your one true love is what it takes_."

"What on Irk does _that_ mean?" Zim asked and then swore in his native tongue.

"Well, I'm pretty sure it means that the Meekrob will give you what you want if you kill the one you love the most," Skoodge explained.

Zim was silent. Everything was silent. Eerily silent. Gaz's rant had finally ended. Zim, deeply lost in his own thoughts, left to join his mate.

(Page Break)

Now that the resentment and loathing were thoroughly taken care of, Gaz was left to express her remaining feelings of wonder, excitement, and undying affection. She put a hand to where her baby continued to kick. It wasn't even two weeks ago that she felt the baby kick for the first time, and now she could feel the strength of the kicks under her palm. Her baby is strong, she realized, like herself…

… And the father.

'_How is it possible that I love you so much when you haven't even been born yet?_' Gaz internally asked her child, who responded with a fast kick. She smiled. For once she was happy. _Very_ happy. She loved their child, and she loved Zim for his part in making their child. Which is why she smiled at him when he came in to join her.

Zim sat down by her in a daze. Even a direct smile didn't shock him out of it. Her smile faltered. "Hey, Zim?"

That did it. He looked right at her.

"Where'd ya go?" she asked.

Zim shrugged and looked her over. It made her feel uncomfortable. It was something about his gaze that made her feel like he was sizing her up. For what, she didn't know. To distract herself, she took his hand and placed it where hers had been.

Zim wasn't paying attention to her, or the baby. Inside his brain raged with a storm of emotions and plans.

'_Tallest? Didn't he say that I could be Tallest? All I've ever dreamed could come true! But Gaz? What about Gaz? she'd be dead! So what? I'd have everything I've ever wanted. The smeet? Who cares? I don't. I never wanted a smeet._' Zim's insides twisted with conflicting emotions on the last thought. '_If I'm Tallest, I'll take a female. One of my own species. We'll have smeets. Gaz'll be a bad memory._'

Zim looked at Gaz; _really_ looked at her and considered his options further. '_I could stay. We'd have our smeet. Take care of each other… she said she loves me…_

'_But humans LIE! What if she's lying to me!? And what if she takes my smeet and leaves me? What if she still hates me? No, I won't give her the chance…_'

"I love you, Zim."

"I love you too, Gaz. You're my one true love."

(THE END)

**Author's Notes**: I'm such a meanie-hole. Making you wait forever only to leave off on another cliff hanger. So sorry. Guess you'll have to catch the rest in "UNLIKELY SACRAFICE"!!!!!!! LOLz. Now to thank all the insane people who read my crap…

THANK YOU…

Invader Johnny, N. River, NightmareAlive, Zantor7, Pheonix22, Risa-Chan, Blackvixzin, Endsey, geminidragon76, chibisiam, Forever, Rimedy, NailBunnyGirl777orInvader L..., Invader Sideos, IWasTheTurkey, The Sole Survivor, otherrealmwriter, InvaderInsane, Da Mongoose, The Shadowy, oom, Jewel, Abby, Areirin, Ing Rimescale, DarknessOfMyHeart1000, buggy500, Kawaii Spinel Queen of Evil, Kezzybob, Gipsychan, sharpshooter01, unknownwarrior, YennyJaylor, Death Nymphetamine, Jessica, fanfictionfan12, 3, BrokenEmber, ARAMAS Are We, Demon Surfer, roquespirit, Sammy, CosmicAurora, Thunderstone, Jak0TheShadows, USMCSayianTom, DarknessAngel101, The Lady Meow, SnowLion no Miko, Daire, AlienatedEmotions, ttlzagrlvr, Nekoshoujo, Lokelani87, DarkSpiritDemon, El Superbeasto, Teary Angel L2, Tina M, anonymuschild, The Exiled One, Always, Saiyajin Princess Chichi, Norisabyss, RaeGhost, Yue-neko, The Project Of The Damned, Shigani, Slade8833, invadergirl123, jackskellington562, inomztietuseoe, Ragnarok Productions, Aidan Fireheart, Angelic Gargoyle Artemis, Ri2, Zim'sMostLoyalServant, shiro-wolfman-k!

That's 75 reviewers by my count. Hope to see you all at the next story.

2.


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